You're The Missing Piece I Need
by lenayaj14
Summary: He broke up with her. She ran. Another took care of her. Now what will happen? R&R! Implied Smitchie - Turn out Nitchie?
1. Intro

"_Excuse_ me?"

"I'm sorry Mitch, it's just not working out."

Him. The love of my life. My boyfriend. My everything…was telling me it wasn't working out?

"What the hell do you mean 'it's not working out'? That's how you're going to end it with me? After everything we've been through together? After everything we've said to each other?" I yelled, my fists tightening as my nails dug into my hand. I didn't care. He shrugged, looking away.

"It's just, not as easy as it used to be. I'm sorry. Really, I am." He replied, looking at me through the screen of his raven black hair, eyes glistening from the sunset, now almost completely sunk into the distant horizon. I blinked.

"Not as easy as it used to be? Shane, love isn't supposed to be easy. When has it ever been easy? The hell I know it hasn't been with you. How can you possibly walk away like this? How can you do that Shane? How can you do this to me?" Pushing on his chest, my voice raised high. He just stood there, taking it, not responding. I looked into his eyes.

"How could you Shane?" I asked, pleading. Pleading to know what I did wrong. What did I do that was so bad to make him not want me anymore? He just stared.

"How could you!" I yelled, pushing on his chest again. The jerk just stood there. Just watched, as if enjoying all the pain that was now pulsing through my body.

"I'm sorry, Mitchie." Was all he said. I'm sorry? I'm sorry?!

I reached up and slapped him dead on his cheek. His hand flew up to cup his now pink flesh as I stared straight into his eyes.

"Go to hell Shane."

As I turned and walked away, the silent tears of rejection, hurt and pain made there way down my cheeks. I angrily wiped them away. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. How could I have been so blind? Was the past year of my life really just a joke? Was he just leading me on? Telling me that he loved me, that I was the only one? How could he do it? How could he have done this to me? More tears spilled out as I continued to increase my speed up the hill.

I trusted him. I loved him. Through everything. The rumors, the media, the gorgeous girls. I stood by him and loved him through it all. And he tells me it's not easy? He walks out on me?

Gasps started coming as I reached the top of the hill. I didn't even know where I was or where I was going. Trying to control the sobs, I clamped a hand over my mouth, trying to think, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I staggered along, crying, as I searched for a way back to camp.

He drags me out here, out to our spot, to break up with me? And now I can't even find the freaking way back. Stopping, just stopping, I let my hand fall to my side. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths, trying to control myself. Trying and praying for everything to just stop.

Opening my eyes with a vengance – I ran. I just ran. I tried to run off the pain, the hurt. All the emotions I wasn't even sure I was feeling. I just ran. Seeing a faint light in the distance, I followed it. Picking up my speed, and loud sobs coming from deep inside my throat, I ran. Rain started to come down in droplets, and then the sky burst into a down pour as I continued to run. My clothes were immediately drenched, but I didn't feel it – didn't care. I let the rain pelt down on to my head, mixing with my tears.

As I got closer to the flickering light, I blindly set my sights on it. Not caring what was in front of me, around me, I just ran to it. Tears streaming down my face, I saw a figure step out in front of me and grab hold of my shoulders. Stopping dead in my tracks I skidded and let out a gasp, sobbing through it all.

"Let me go. God, just let me go!" I sobbed, squirming as the figure pulled me out into the moonlight.

"Mitchie. Mitchie! Stop! What's going on? What's wrong?" Looking up, I saw the familiar warm, brown eyes of Nate. Letting out a cross between a sob and a gasp, I flung myself into his arms.

"Mitchie, Mitchie. What's wrong? Talk to me hun, you're scaring me." He said, voice as smooth as ever, but I could hear the concern in it. I shook my head, I wasn't ready. I couldn't tell him. Maybe if I didn't tell him, it might not be real.

"Okay, it's alright. Just breathe Mitch, just breathe." He said soothingly, wrapping his arms around my shaking body. I continued to sob and shake my head as the scene at the lake unwillingly replayed through my mind.

"Shh. It's okay. It'll be allright." He continued to comfortingly rub little circles on the small of my back. Surprisingly, my breathing started to level out. I opened my eyes slowly and tried to take in normal breaths of air. My cheek was still pressed against his chest as I slowly closed them again, exhaustion taking over my mind.

"Okay hun, let's get you dried off." I heard as I felt him pick me up bridal-style. Knowing I was finally safe, I slipped off into darkness.

Thoughts? Seeing as my last 2 stories were deleted, I wanted to write a story that would be accepted. So try to report me now..

Moving along, I wrote this on a whim with a small to no ideas in my head as to where it's going or what's going to happen. Ideas are completely welcome and appreciated.

Talk to ya'll soon.

Peace.Love.Connect3

(HA)


	2. To Remember Or Not To Remember?

Hot chocolate.

That's what I smelled. It smelled close…_really_ close. I willed my mind to open my eyes to find out where the amazing smell was coming from. Letting them flutter open, a nightstand came into view, and there sat the culprit of the amazing smell. I furrowed my eyebrows. Hot chocolate in bed? I hadn't had that since last Christmas at home.

Home?

Where was I anyway? Focusing in on the nightstand, I rubbed my eyes in effort to wipe the blurriness away. Looking around, a full-on fire was burning up the fireplace. Fireplace? There's no fireplace in my room. Still laying curled up on my side; I let my eyes wander around as much as I could see. The walls were all wood, and fluffy mats lay on the floor. Oh my god.

Flying straight up, my mind finally played catch-up. I was at camp! Camp Rock to be exact…in my cabin…with a fire going. I looked out the window across from my bed. Rain pelted the glass outside as darkness covered over the view. Okay, it's dark. It's raining. What the heck happened?

I rubbed my eyes again as I sat up straighter, leaving the warmth of the comforter. As I ran a hand through my tangled mess of hair, I realized it was damp. Why was it wet? Did I fall asleep with out drying my hair? No…I wouldn't do that, I knew what consequences lay ahead in the morning if I don't dry my hair. Still trying to put together the pieces of this very odd situation, I heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on.

Okay, people…this is good. Stretching my arms above my head I waited for the person in the bathroom to come out. Reaching over, I picked up the oh-so-sweet smelling hot chocolate and cupped my hands around the sides, taking in the warmth. Sipping it slightly, I found that it was perfect. I sighed. Taking a bigger gulp, I let it go down slowly, warming me to the core. Hearing the door swing open, I peered up from over the rim. Cate. More commonly known as Caitlyn.

"Ah, singer-diva finally awakes." She smirked. I smiled, lowering my cup to waist level, putting my legs into an Indian style at the same time.

"She does. Miss me?" I asked, smirking back at her. She gave me a classic Cate eye roll as she smiled, plopping down on the bottom of my bed.

"I'll always miss my singer-diva." She grinned mischievously, laying down as she settled in with her arms above her head. It was my turn to roll my eyes. She knew I hated when she called me that.

"Yeah. Mhm." I mumbled sarcastically, sipping from the big, warm mug again. Looking back over at her again, I found her laying with her eyes closed, little smile one her face. Raising an eyebrow, I preceded to talk.

"By the way, thanks for the hot chocolate. It's perfect. Who knew you could make a replica of my moms?" I said, gulping down the sweetness again. Eyes still closed, she answered back.

"I didn't make it, too bad though. You'd know I'd take that compliment and run with it." She smirked again. I stopped my indulgent drinking to look at her questioningly, even though her eyes were still shut.

"Well then who did?" I asked, confused to who on earth could even come close to my mom's amazingness at cooking skills. But the minute the words came out of my mouth, the door flew open and in came Nate, carrying a good amount of wood in his arms.

"You're lookin' at him." She said, finally opening her eyes to look over at me. Needless to say, my mouth about dropped to the floor.

"Nate? _You_ made this?" I asked, trying not to sound demeaning, but I was truly astonished. He laughed, kicking the door closed with his foot.

"Ah, sleeping beauty awakes, and yes, I did." He said, smiling over at me before piling the logs by the fireplace. Picking my mouth off the floor, I blinked hard, staring at the mug in my hands.

"Well, wow. It's amazing." I said, looking back over at him. He side-smiled as he walked over to the side of the bed, taking his wet coat off in the process.

"Well I'm glad you like it." He said, his calming voice as smooth as ever. I smiled, laying back against the head board.

"I do, and thanks…it's really great." I said, chugging it to support my statement. He smiled down at me, but his eyes displayed something else. I cleared my throat, looking away.

"Uh guys…would anyone mind telling me what's going on?" I asked, scooting my butt back little to be able to sit up straighter. I saw Nate slip a side glance to Cate, giving me an uneasy feeling.

"We were actually hoping you'd be able to tell us." Cate said as I watched Nate drag a chair over to the side of my bed. I slid my gaze over to her.

"What'd you mean? I can't remember anything. It took me forever just to find out where I was." I said, trying to play back anything that might help me remember how I ended up in bed and why. Looking over, I saw Nate settle in one of the big blue moon chairs that Cate and I had bought together for our cabin. He gave me a little smile as he started to talk.

"Well, I can help jog your memory a little bit, but I really don't know much. But I can tell you you've had everyone real nervous. We just figured you'd sleep through the night but…" He trailed off, looking up at me as if wanting me to finish his sentence.

"Uh…I'm sorry? Did I like, get knocked out or something? Because I honestly don't know how I got here." I said, shaking my head in almost disbelief.

"No…at least we don't think so. Actually we don't really know. I mean if you did get knocked out, you'd have like, a nice little...big bump on your head somewhere but seeing as there isn't, I don't think-" Cate started to ramble on, pushing on my head a little to emphasize what she was saying, but Nate gave her a look making her close her mouth.

"I-I'm gonna shut up now." She mumbled, looking down. I let out a little laugh.

"Nate?" I asked looking over at him for an answer. Slipping his gaze back to me, he started to explain…again.

"Well, I had seen you guys leave and thought it completely normal, but when I didn't see either of you come back, I figured something bad happened since it was basically dark. So I started out to find you guys, and all the sudden it started to rain. But I figured I should try anyway, so I kept going, and then I heard someone running through the woods and crying hysterically. I had no idea who it was or why they were there, so I hid behind this tree and waited for them to run through, but then I saw it was you. You were soaked and crying…I didn't know what was going on. So I stepped out in front of you – probably wasn't the greatest idea seeing as I basically killed your heart – but you just fell onto me and I tried to ask you what was wrong but you just kept shaking your head and then passed out. So I brought you back here and Cate stayed with you and dried you off – don't worry I didn't – while I went to go get the doc. He just said you were fine, just probably knocked out from exhaustion, and he said to let you sleep and find out what happened after you woke up. Then after that Brown and everyone have been pretty worried, especially after he took off. Nobody knows where he went and personally, I'm pretty pissed myself. Before I could corner him to find out what happened – he split and no one's seen him since. But I can't tell you he's gonna have hell to pay to everyone once they find him. But I can't believe he did that, it's just not him…" He trailed off, leaving me a little more enlightened, but most of all completely confused. So I asked the one question I had wanted to ask since he started his amusing babble.

"Who's he?"

Cate and Nate shared look, making me a little annoyed this time.

"Shane, Mitch. He's talking about Shane. Don't you remember anything babe?" Cate asked, looking at me with concern.

Shane…Shane left? Why would he leave me? What…what the hell was going on? Why couldn't I remember anything? I angrily set the mug down on the nightstand, getting out of my warm covers to pace the room. Hand on hip, the other on my head; I paced back and forth getting angrier and angrier each turn. I couldn't remember a damn thing.

"I can't remember! I can't remember anything!" I screamed angrily. Cate jumped off the bed to come over to me, but Nate had already gotten over there.

"Hey. Hey babe, look at me. Just breath, okay? Just relax, it'll come. Just relax." He said, his soothing voice relaxing me as his hands rubbed my shoulders gently. I closed my eyes, backing away a bit to think.

Shane…my Shane…what happened? Breathing deeply I tried to remember. I ran everything through my mind. Yesterday night, a party, this morning's classes, Shane wanting me to go to our spot after dinner…

Opening my eyes, I looked out the window. The rain. I saw the rain.

The memories absorbed my mind as I fell to the floor, crying. Oh god…oh god. No, this wasn't happening. Something was not right. It was a dream. It had to be. I know it is.

"Mitchie, Mitchie. Hunny tell us what happened. Please." Nate pleaded, his arms wrapped around me as we rocked back and forth. I looked up and saw Cate in front of me, brushing my hair gently.

"Please Mitch, tell us. What happened? What did he do to you?" She asked, looking at me with intensity. I continued to cry.

"He broke my heart."

**XXXX**

Thoughts? Concerns? Ideas? Let me know!

I really think I'm going to love writing this story – I just love a good Nitchie pairing, there like, the most adorable couple ever. Haha.

Review guys!


	3. Memories and the Rain

"What? W-what'd he do babe? What'd he do to you? Tell us…please!" Cate persisted, squeezing my shoulder.

I looked up through my water-filled eyes. I didn't even know where to start, the memories flooding my mind where just too much to handle. I opened my mouth to try to come up with something – anything to say, but all the would come out where little sobs filled with the tears now flowing down my cheeks. I felt Nate start to get up, bringing me with him.

"Okay, it's alright. Just relax and take your time. Come on babe, come sit over here." He said, letting me lean fully onto him as he walked me over to the edge of the bed. Still trying to swallow my sobs, I scooted my butt onto the bed, wiping my nose as I tried to wrap my mind around the surreal situation.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cate plop down on the end, staring at me intently while Nate brought the moon chair closer, sitting on the edge of it. He reached up and laid a gentle hand on my thigh, slowly rubbing it softly with his thumb as he looked up at me with those big, caring eyes.

At that moment, I knew something changed between us. I didn't know what it was or if it was just the hot chocolate messing with my head, but the way he looked so open, so concerned…something was different. Apparently he didn't notice, because he broke the moment by talking.

"You can tell us, come on hun." He continued to rub little circles as he spoke. Trying to convince myself everything I just felt was the caffeine, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, Shane's face flashing across my closed eyelids. I opened them quickly, staring off at the wall.

"He broke up with me." I finally said, my sobs slowly coming under control.

"He _what_?" Cate asked, obvious shock displayed on her face. I nodded, doing everything in my power not to close my eyes again because I knew I'd cry and I knew Shane would be there. I would see his face, his uncaring, stupid face, and that's all I would see.

"But…but _how_? I mean…you guys are like, _the_ perfect couple. What happened?" She said, shock still in her voice as she put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I shrugged, looking away.

"He asked if we could go to our spot after dinner. When we got there, it took him all of 5 minutes to break up with me, at our spot. _Our _spot. How could he? He told me it wasn't working out and it wasn't as easy anymore. How could he do this to me Cate? I loved him. I loved him so much!" I sobbed into her shoulder as she hugged me.

"I don't know babe, I really don't. But he'll pay, I can promise you that." She said angrily. I had just released Cate the Beast. I actually winced in pain for what Shane was going to have to suffer; I knew what she was like when you mess with her friends.

Trying to maintain any dignity I had left, I slowly pulled away, giving her a little smile. It finally dawned on me that Nate hadn't said anything since I told them what went on. I shifted my eyes over to his, and all I could see was coldness. His body was rigid, his jaw was set – it was a scary sight. I'd never seen Nate look so livid, come to think of it, I'd never seen Nate mad before at all. Clearing my throat in awkwardness, I leaned forward a bit.

"Nate? Are you okay?" I asked, feeling kind of weird asking him that considering the situation and all. His eyes snapped up to meet mine, making me sit back a bit.

"I need to go." He said, standing up quickly and taking long strides towards the door. I gave Cate a panicked glance and ran over to try to keep up with his pace.

"Wait! Where're you going?" I asked, grabbing his upper arm because it was the first thing I could reach. I immediately noticed his rock-hard muscles and looking down I saw that his hands were in fists.

"To find Shane." He said tightly, walking out of my grip as he pulled on his coat. I felt bad for the coat.

Before I could process what he said, he had opened the door and started to walk out.

"Nate, it's pouring down rain out there! You can't leave!" I said, as a million thoughts raced through my mind. Why was he so mad? Why did I feel the need to stop him? Why was he going to find Shane? Why did I care?

"I have to." He said, taking another step into the small awning, barely protecting him from the torrential down-pour going on an arms width away. I followed him out, barefoot and all.

"Mitchie! Get back inside, you're gonna get sick!" He said, his voice automatically switching from hard and tight to sincere concern as he started to take off his coat to put it around me. I stopped him.

"Nate, listen to me. Going out to try to find Shane when a replica of the flood is going on outside, isn't the most practical idea. And plus, it's not your problem to fight – it's mine. So please, just come back inside." I pleaded, my hands still on his shoulders, preventing him from taking his coat off. He blinked, starting to relax as the stubbornness in his eyes slowly faded away.

"But he hurt you Mitchie. I can't just stand around and do nothing. You're still one of my good friends, I care a lot about you. And I'm not going to let Shane Grey hurt you – no matter if he's my friend and band mate or not." He said, anger flashing through his eyes as he spoke. I looked up into his eyes, and knew exactly what I had to do. Standing on my tiptoes, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. He stood rigid at first, obviously not expecting the action. Hey, what can I say? I like hugs, I'm a huggy person. But he soon relaxed and wound his arms around my waist. I smiled, pulling back a little so he could hear me through the loud noise of the rain.

"First of all, you were sitting, not standing. And second, I'm flattered that you care about me enough to want to go out and find Shane, but doing that isn't going to help anything. Shane made his choice. He didn't want me anymore, and my heart's already been broken, nothing going to change that. But what you can do is just be here for me. I'm gonna need you and Cate and Jason now more then ever." I said sincerely as I slowly let go of his neck. He smiled his little smile, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear.

"I'll always be here for you Mitchie."

And that, he was.

**XXXX**

Oh the possibilities…I just love Nitchie. Haha! I have so much fun writing this It's crazy. Well let me know what you all think. I still as of now have absolutely no plot or ideas as to where this story is going. I just wing every chapter.

So please – any ideas you all might have – let me know!

Review please! :D


	4. What the Rain Does

-**The Next Morning**-

"Mitchie…Mitchie!" I jumped, snapping out of my concentrated stare out the window. It had finally stopped raining, but it left the world looking worn and dreary. Hey, at least it wasn't mocking me.

"Huh? Sorry. What's up?" I asked, stuffing my hands in the front of my pockets. Surprisingly, it never took me long to get dressed. Now Cate on the other hand, was a different story all together. I tried not to laugh at her disheveled appearance. T-shirt half tucked in, half hanging out, one boot on, the other pant leg was scrunched up to her knee. I slowly let my eyes trail up to her face, trying to hide the amused smirk slowly forming. I saw Nate at the vanity trying to do the same.

"Have you seen my boot? I can not find my boot. Nate! Did you take my boot? I'll be so mad if you did!" She said, her hands on her hips looking completely serious as she yelled at Nate across the room. Trying not to laugh, he held up his hands.

"I may be a lot of things, but stealing a shoe from a teenage girl…I'm not dumb enough to try that." He smirked, and I laughed softly as I took in his features. As Cate grunted and stomped off in search of the disappearing boot, his gaze met mine. He smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but return it.

Last night after Nate finally decided to come back in, we all decided that it would be best if he just spent the night there. We didn't want to risk him running through the camp, trying to make it back to his cabin while the storm kept escalating to an even worse state. After an over-dramatic argument of Cate and me saying that he would get one of the beds, and Cate and I would share the other, and him disagreeing about being a gentleman and how he'd sleep on the floor, we finally got him into one of the beds and sat on him until he promised to sleep there. Okay, a little harsh, but it worked.

"Man, I'm not even sure if I want to know what Jason did last night." He shook his head, making his perfectly defined curls bounce up and down and leaving one caught on the other making it stand straight up in the air. He kept talking about all the possibilities of what his unique band mate might have done, and I was just trying not to notice how funny…yet completely adorable he looked. He had a full-on serious face as he gestured, his eyebrows were scrunched, and this curl just kept bouncing all around, him not even knowing.

"…You know? Uh…Mitchie? Mitchie!" He said, standing up to wave his hands in my face. I blinked. Okay, now that's the second time I've majorly zoned.

"Sorry. I uh…" I started, still trying to keep in my giggles. He arched an eyebrow.

"What?" He asked, a little smile gracing his features. The curl still haunted me. Stupid curl. I started smiling, which quickly turned into a full-on laugh. I tried to control it, but once I looked up again, and saw how confused he looked, with that curl still pin-straight, I lost all control and doubled over laughing.

I tried to take in deep breaths, covering my mouth to bring down all the humor in me right now. It worked as long as I didn't look at him. Standing up with my back facing him, I calmed myself enough to turn back around. He looked more confused then ever, and I had to bite my tongue to prevent another outburst.

"Um…did I do something? Because I don't really know what's going on…" He looked down at me, his face full of question. I laughed lightly, stepping closer to him. I reached up, and gently untangled the soft curl. Having a sudden urge to run my fingers through his hair, I quickly pulled my hand back and immediately realized how close we were. He smiled crookedly…giving him such a sexy look, and my heart fluttered in my chest. I couldn't be feeling like this. No, I wasn't. It was just all of the stress. It had to be. But my heart thudded again as he brushed a few stray hairs out of my eyes.

"Thanks." He whispered. Our lips were only a lean's width apart, and I could feel him leaning.

Oh this wasn't good.

I looked away, feeling guilty and confused. I had just broken up with someone I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. And the very next day, I almost kiss the person who I need as my friend, now more than ever? I swear rain does something to a person.

I slowly turned my head, needing to look him in the eyes again. He eyes were wide, and his mouth couldn't make up its mind on whether to open or close. I softened my face, laying a hand on his arm.

"Nate…" I started, trying to find the words to let him know I wasn't angry with him. I was angry with myself. But before I could, Cate waltzed back into the room, announcing her arrival very noisily I might add. The girl had impeccable timing.

I felt Nate jump back. Taking a deep breath, and putting on the best smile I could muster, I turned around. She was focused on looking around the room; I'm sure for her laptop case. I sighed; thank god she hadn't seen us. Her eyes sparkled as she laid them on her case, jogging over to get it.

"Ya ready?" She asked, slinging it over her shoulder and looking at both of us, I nodded. Her eyebrow went up.

_Please don't say anything…please don't say anything…_

Her mouth started to open and I closed the gap between us, taking hold of her shoulders as I guided her to the door.

"Come on, let's go. Don't want to be late for breakfast…" I said, still somewhat forcing her towards the exit.

"But, I…" She tried to talk, but finally gave up, glancing back at me. Rolling her eyes, she walked out the door and onto the muddy terrain, fiddling with her bag as she started to walk down the path. Phew. I sighed as I followed; glancing back to make sure Nate was coming.

He easily caught up with me, and I could feel his uneasy stare on the side of my face. His hand soon found its way onto my shoulder, making me stop. I looked up at him with understanding eyes; I needed him to know I wasn't upset.

"Mitchie…I'm sorry." He spoke softly, looking down into my eyes questioningly. I smiled, tapping his chin up with my finger teasingly.

"Don't be."

And I followed a now iPod listening Caitlyn as I tried to comprehend everything that had just happened.

**XXXX**

Hey guys. You don't know how much I appreciate knowing you like this story. I know this is a short chapter, but let me know if you'd prefer longer ones. =]

Please review! It makes me so happy.

And give your TRUE opinion. Moving too fast? Too slow? Let me know what you'd like to see.

And please, review with more then an "awesome" or "love it. pms." As much as I like hearing you love it, I want your opinion. Please take an extra minute to type out what you really thought.

Thanks guys!

Love & Connect3

Haha.


	5. Nosy Friends and Forgotten Classes

**-Later that Day-**

"Pink or blue?"

"Blue!" Cate and I said together, tearing open the clear bag filled with balloons and preceding to start the long process of blowing them all up.

My mom's cooking business had taken off since last summer and now my parents could easily pay for me to come to camp…without my mom having to work in the kitchen. But even though we didn't have to, Cate and I still helped out in the kitchen as much as we could. I found it relaxing. I basically grew up in a kitchen, whether it was helping, or just watching my mom work her magic and I felt a little part of me was gone when I was out of one for too long. I guess it's genetic.

"Hey guys, lookin' good!" Amee, the new chef, said cheerfully as she whizzed by, two huge bags of chips in her arms. I smiled, tying off the now blown-up balloon.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you…what was up with you and Nate this morning? You both looked like I caught you with your hands in a cookie jar – you don't have a cookie jar do you?" Cate asked the inevitable question I knew would come when she finally got me alone. I laughed, getting ready to start another balloon.

"Don't worry. No secret cookie jar that I know about." I said, stalling as much as I could while I blew into the hole.

"Okay, good. Now tell me what happened. I know something happened – you had that look on your face." She said knowingly and then blew into her balloon. I stopped and turned towards her.

"What 'look on my face?'"

"Oh you know. The one where you put on a fake smile to hide something you know you shouldn't be doing. So what were you doing?" She asked, never skipping a beat. I sighed and rolled my eyes, tying off the end.

"I wasn't doing anything." I replied, a little irritated at how well she could read me.

"Uh-huh. Well, I can always ask Nate if you won't tell me…"

"Fine with me." I said, smirking. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh come on Mitch! I wanna know! And you know I'll figure it out sooner or later so you might as well tell me." She said pleaded. I sighed, she was right. She always finds out.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But it's not like anything happened. I mean, we were talking, one of his curls was bothering me, I fixed it, and we ended up way too close, then he started to lean in, and I backed away. That's basically it in a nutshell." I sighed, loosing my will to blow out all of my air into a balloon.

I'd spent all day trying to sort things out in my head, which didn't go very well considering everywhere I went people were giving me sympathy stares and asking me questions I didn't even know the answers to. I guess that's what you get when you date a jerk. And the jerk, of course wasn't there to teach his classes, so all the dance classes were cancelled until a new teacher could replace him. It all was so damn upsetting. I still was trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the guy I'd been in love with had dumped me. That still was very much surreal to me. I tried not to think about it. I mean, I had always been a practical person and I knew that continuing to freak out and letting anger control me wasn't going to help at all. But no matter how headstrong I was, it still didn't stop the heart-wrenching hurt of knowing that I wasn't good enough…to know that someone I had thoughtlessly gave my heart to would and could crush it so easily.

"Nuh-uh! Wow…now that I didn't expect. I mean, I always knew Nate liked you but I didn't-" Cate stopped her sentence abruptly as my head snapped up, realizing I was still very much in a conversation. I blinked hard at what I had thought I heard. No, no something had to be wrong.

"Wait, _what_?" I asked, squeezing her shoulder.

"I uh…didn't expect it?" She looked at me questioningly.

"No after that, about Nate." Her eyes immediately looked down.

"Oh that…I shouldn't have said anything, you know me and my mouth. Just forget I said that, really Mitch. You weren't supposed to know." She said, her face set in a nervous look. I swallowed hard. Nate had always liked me? No…there had to be some mistake. I would have noticed, I would have seen it.

Continuing to blow into my balloon, I scrunched my eyebrows trying to get a hold of the over whelming past 24 hours. So much had happened in just that short span of time. Just two days ago I'd felt so in control, so sure of who I was and what I was doing. Now I felt that life had thrown me, twisted me, and set me on a path I had no idea how to walk on. As I continued to let my frustration out on the balloon, I glanced at my phone.

_3:08_ flashed back.

"So how long have you known abou-shit!" I said, throwing the balloon down on the table and letting the air fizzle out of it. I yanked my bag off of the floor and scrambled towards the door.

"Whoa, hold up cowgirl, where're you going?" Cate asked from her place behind the counter.

"My class with Nate, I totally forgot!" I said, yanking the door open and jogging down the steps, not waiting for her response.

I ran in the direction of the vocals cabin. I was already 8 minutes late, and I'll be another 5 by the time I get there. Crap, Nate's gonna think I stood him up. I ran faster down the path, passing cabins with ongoing classes in them. I finally reached where it opens up into another little path, secluded into the woods. Stopping to catch my breath for a second, I ran down it, knowing I was almost there.

The cabin started to come into view and I picked up my pace. When I got to the top of the porch, I leaned against the post for a second, not wanting to stampede through the door resembling some herd of wild cattle. Swallowing hard, I breathed in deep, trying to steady my breath before I walked to the door and went in.

Taking long strides – okay, as long as my short legs would let me - I walked towards the right of the little lobby, seeing as the cabin was split in to halves. Opening the right door, I walked into the familiar atmosphere. All the camp teachers were aloud to decorate their classroom for the summer, and Nate's was always my favorite. Unconsciously dropping my bag to the floor, I started walking around the room, taking in all of the already familiar pictures.

Nate had decorated his room to inspire his students, unlike Shane who decorated his to inspire himself – a felt a pain deep inside of me as I thought about why I never realized that before.

Looking up, I smiled at one of the walls of big posters who included such people as Johnny Cash and Nate's favorite – Elvis Presley. There were posters of guitar chords and of other amazing musicians.

I let my eyes fall onto the next wall, which held a lot of posters with quotes and lyric verses on it. I glanced over to the end of the wall and saw a poster I'd never seen before. Walking over so I could read it, I noticed it was a lot bigger then the others.

_Never Let the Fear of Striking Out, Keep You From Playing the Game…_

I smiled, baseball junkie. Leave it to Nate to fit in baseball into an inspiring quotes wall.

"You like it?"

I jumped, spinning around.

"Oh god Nate, you scared the crap out of me." I said, putting my hand over my heart as I tried to breathe in the air that I had lost. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and pushed himself off of the wall, walking closer.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He said, looking at me with those caring eyes. I smiled a little.

"No worries. I'm fine. And I'm really sorry I'm late, Cate and me were blowing up balloons for the party tomorrow night and I just lost track of time. Forgive me?" I explained, walking over to pick up my bag and then got situated on the chair across from where Nate was already sitting.

"Well, I don't know, that'll depend on how good you do today." He smirked. I nodded my head, picking up the guitar that was laying in the case on the floor.

"Fair enough." I smiled, starting to strum a beat to a familiar song I always warm up to.

_'I`ve always been the kind of girl that hid my face_

_So afraid to tell the world what I've got to say_

_But I have this dream bright inside of me_

_I'm gonna let it show_

_It's time_

_To let you know, to let you know_

_This is real, this is me_

_I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now_

_Gonna let the light shine on me_

_Now I've found, who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_This is me_

_Do you know what it's like to feel so in the dark?_

_To dream about a life where you're the shining star_

_Even though it seems_

_Like it's too far away_

_I have to believe in myself_

_It's the only way_

_This is real, this is me_

_I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now_

_Gonna let the light shine on me_

_Now I've found, who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_This is me_

I suddenly stopped strumming, making the guitar that I was holding come to a loud "thud." I didn't even know, I couldn't even feel the tears that now had soaked my cheeks. The song was so personal, so close to my heart, and now I couldn't even bear to sing it. Shane's face flashed across my closed eyelids. It had always been our song; we always sang it to each other. It was always so special to me.

I could feel the hate boiling inside of me. So many things were different because of what Shane did. God, I couldn't even get through a damn vocals class.

"Hey, hey babe, it's okay. We can do another song, hey look at me." I heard Nate say softly, but it didn't register he was talking to me until now. He gently pulled my chin up, and I looked into his eyes. So warm, so caring…so unlike Shane's cold, empty ones.

I wiped by eyes and sniffed, trying to get a hold of my emotions. Gosh, I felt so vulnerable. I hated feelings like this.

"_The more vulnerable you are, the more you're going to get hurt."_

It was something Shane had said to me once. I felt like laughing bitterly at that thought. I must have been too absorbed in my thoughts to realize the soft singing until now. I blinked hard and shifted my gaze towards Nate, who was now squatting in front of my chair, his arms on either side of me to balance himself.

My breath hitched in my throat for a number of reasons as he continued to sing, his soft voice absorbing my thoughts.

_You're the voice I hear inside my head_

_The reason that I'm singing_

_I need to find you, I gotta find you_

_You're the missing piece I need_

_The song inside of me_

_I need to find you…_

I smiled, wiping my remaining tears away.

_I gotta find you_

_This is real, this is me_

_I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now_

_Gonna let the light shine on me_

_Now I've found, who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_(This is me) You're the missing piece I need the song inside of me_

_(This is me) You're the voice I hear inside my head_

_(Yeah) The reason that I'm singing_

Pulling him up with me, I took his hands in mine smiling up at his beautiful face as we continued to sing, our voices blending perfectly together.

_Now I've found_

_Who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_This is me_

I stared up into his eyes, seeing so much hope, and so much care. I smiled wide, pulling him into a hug.

"Thanks Nate." I said softly, tightly hanging onto his neck. I felt him wrap his arms around me, pulling me closer in response. I nuzzled my face into his neck, and it immediately felt right.

I never did this with Shane - just hug him, thinking about everything about him. For one, Shane was usually always too busy; he never had enough time to just be here with me. It still shocked me immensely that I never realized any of that until now.

I pulled away slightly, smiling.

"So do you forgive me?" I asked, looking up at him. He laughed.

"I don't know, I think I might need another hug to help me decide." He grinned mischievously. I smiled and quickly pulled him into another hug.

I soon noticed the little circles he was making on my back as he started to sway gently back and forth. Not knowing how exactly to feel, I nuzzled my face deeper into his shoulder, taking in his soft scent. It was so Nate. Sweet smelling, yet masculine. I smiled. I liked it.

As we continued to hug, I felt Nate's warm hand get more confident as it continued to rub circles lower on my back. I tensed up. It felt like it'd been so long since someone had held me this tenderly, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to feel that again. I wasn't ready for another person in my life, I just wasn't. I still couldn't believe that I was single, and I was in no shape to rush into another relationship or even rush into having feelings for another guy – no matter how special he was.

I pulled back a bit, stopping our joined swaying to look up at him.

"I um…" I cut myself off before I said something I shouldn't. Taking in a deep breath, I looked back up. Nate's body was still pressed against mine as he gently ran a hand over my hair; bringing my face closer to his. A sharp intake of breath rushed into my throat as I firmly pressed my hands against his chest, backing away. I shook my head, this…whatever ever it was…was just too much for me.

"Nate…we can't." I said, removing my hands from his chest and dropping them to my sides. I looked up timidly, afraid of what he might say. He gave me a small smile, running his hand back over my hair again.

"I'm sorry Mitchie…I just, I got carried away. I'm so sorry, I know I shouldn't have even tried that – I shouldn't have even tried to do what I did this morning. Mitchie, I can't even begin to understand what you're feeling, and I know I'm not helping by throwing all of these different things at you. So I'll back off, I promise. I know you need me as a friend right now, first and foremost, and I promised I'd always be here for you. So I'm sorry for whatever I've…done, and I hope that soon, I'll get a chance to show you that I'm always here for you…and I hope I get a chance to smash in Shane's head too as entertainment." He said, his hands going into their usual lively gestures. I laughed, giving him a smile and he gladly returned it.

"Well, let's try not to kill Shane, we couldn't have you in jail for that – think of what the fans will say," he laughed lightly, raising his eyebrows in agreement, "but…I know you'll always be here for me, I don't doubt that at all, you have to know that. And I'm not upset or irritated at you; I'm just…confused is all. I mean, this has all just been so much, just everything…it's so much to handle and understand. So please, please don't think I'm rejecting you, just know I have so much to sort out in my head…and in my heart. I just need time Nate, I need time." I said, pouring out my heart this amazing person who I knew I took for granted.

"Well you've got…" he said, glancing down at his watch, "yeah, you've got 6 minutes." He stated, looking down at me with certainty. My mouth dropped.

"W-what?" I stuttered. He's joking, right?

"Yup, 6 minutes, so can we speed this up?" He asked, business voice full-throttle. I blinked hard. He was seriously telling me to figure out my emotions in 6 minutes? Was this some kind of joke? My face must have displayed everything I was thinking because Nate soon started to laugh.

"Babe, I'm just kidding. You didn't think I was serious did you?" He continued to chuckle, leaving me still dumbfounded. I punched his arm.

"Nate! That was so mean! I honestly thought you were serious!" I said appalled, he shook his head, still suppressing laughs.

"You should've seen your face." He continued to chuckle. I glared, pouting somewhat. He smiled and brought me into a quick hug.

"Oh Mitch, I was just kidding. Take all the time you need, I'll always be here for you. I'm not going anywhere – no matter how much you try to get rid of me." He winked.

"Aw, man! And I had a whole plot going to kick you out of camp!" I joked, wining out my complaint. He rolled his eyes.

"It'll never work. I'd seek in and come through your window at night." He said in a deep, raspy voice. I laughed.

"Yeah, allrighty then…I'll be locking my windows from now on..." I teased, smiling.

"Oh, I'd just find another way. But seriously, I know you need time, and I'm sorry for trying to push or rush or anything that I did. But yeah, I wasn't joking about the 6 minutes thing – well 3 minute thing now. Your class period's almost up." He said, still holding my arm lightly.

"Oh yeah! God, my brain has obviously not been home today. I gotta go, I've got a writing class after this." I walked out of his touch, scrambling to get my stuff together.

"Well this has been a productive class period." I stated sarcastically, putting the guitar back in the case.

"Well, actually it has. I got to make a fool of myself - and I got to make an apology. I'd say on your end, you learned a lot!" He chuckled, helping me clean-up the area. I smiled, hoisting my bag onto my shoulder.

"You did not make a fool of yourself, but thanks for the apology even though it wasn't really needed. But I really gotta go, I'll see you Nate." I closed the gap between us, reaching up to hug him. Pulling back I quickly kissed his cheek and then walked towards the door, turning around a little to throw a wink back. He grinned.

"See ya tonight." I nodded my response, and gave him another quick smile before I walked out the door.

**XXXX**

**(DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN "THIS IS ME". ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE AMAZING PEOPELE WHO DO OWN IT)**

Okay guys! Well, I tried to make this chapter longer – I realized that they were waay too short. But I don't know, I'm not so sure about this chapter. It's definitely not one of my favorites. I actually wrote, deleted, and wrote it all again twice. I just wasn't feeling it.

Oh well, tell me what you think anyway.

I didn't want it to move incredibly fast. That's just not real. I mean come on, she breaks up with Shane and two days later she's completely over him and kisses Nate? Eh…I'm not feeling that.

But thank you SO much for the reviews and the constructive criticism! It has helped me a lot. =]

Keep them coming!

Love & Connect 3.


	6. 7 Things I Don't Want To Feel About You

Hey guys…girls? I just wanted to thank all of you for your amazing reviews, and apologize it took so long to update. I don't want to disappoint, so it'll take me longer to put chapters up because I'll be spending more time on them.

Second, be careful for some language towards the end.

Another thing – you'll meet Jason in this chapter. I just wanted to let you know he's not as…oh…"build me a birdhouse" as he is in the movie. I wasn't sure if I could write a character so…err…unique? And I didn't want to attempt to write a character I knew I couldn't do justice to.

So don't get me wrong! He is carefree and airy, and oblivious most of the time, but he probably won't be as airheaded as he is in the movie. (Do NOT take that the wrong way. I love Jason, I think he gave the movie an extra 'umphh' that it needed, so don't think I'm making fun of his character because I'm not.)

Anyway, just wanted to give ya'll a heads up.

I'll shutup now.

Happy Reading!

**XXXX**

**-2 Days Later-**

"Okay, black or red pumps?" I asked, standing in front of my two best friends, waving the shoes over myself for the full effect.

"Oh please hun, no pumps, you know better then to wear 3 inch heels when you have to walk in swampy mud." Cate waved me off with the flick of her hand as she continued to type away on her laptop. I rolled my eyes.

"She's right. No heels. Go with boots!" Jason said, causing a wave of excitement to burst out of him as he sat up on the bed. I laughed.

"Jay, you always want me to wear boots." I said, looking in the body-length mirror for myself.

"I can't help it. I like boots! There so…booty. Not to mention extremely comfy." He replied with a satisfied smile on his face as he lay back down on the bed. I cast a glance towards Cate as I tried to hold in an outburst of laughter.

"Did you just say…booty?" She asked, looking at him with an amused smile. He nodded contentedly, not even giving it a second thought. Cate looked over to me and we both let out a series of giggles.

"Nice Jay, real nice." I said, continuing to laugh. He looked up at both of us, a confused face displayed.

"What? Why are you two laughing? I don't get it! Tell me!" He wined, sitting up again. Cate rolled her eyes, laying a teasing hand on his shoulder.

"You're much too young to know." She laughed at his pouting face.

"You two are so mean." He replied, crossing his arms as we continued to laugh. His face went to a dramatic pout as he turned his back to us. I looked at Cate again which just caused us to laugh more. I walked over to where he was on my bed and hugged him from behind.

"Aw, Jay-Jay, you know we love you. Don't be mad!" I hung over his shoulder so he could clearly see my pout. I could see him biting the sides of his mouth to keep from smiling. I pouted more.

"You know, you're lucky I love you or else I'd send my birds after you for calling me that." He said, still pouting, but his face loosened up a bit. I laughed, I knew he would've to; I don't trust Jason and his birds.

"Aw…you love me?" I said in a baby voice, my full-on innocent look on my face. He rolled his eyes, breaking out into a big smile. Ah, there's the Jason I know. He turned and tackled me down to the floor, bringing Cate down with us on the fall. Luckily, he landed first.

"I'll always love my girls." He squeezed both of us into a bone-crushing hug. I couldn't feel my face.

"Ah, group hug…much better." He squeezed one last time and then let go.

"It hasn't been the same without Shane though." He said nonchalantly as he brushed off invisible dirt from his pants. My stomach tightened instantly. I saw Cate smack him, making him look at her confused until it finally clicked. Sometimes, as much as I love Jason the way he is, I wish he wasn't as slow to realize what he says might hurt someone. His head whipped back around to mine as his baby powder smelling arms wrapped around me in another bone crushing hug.

"I. Am so. Sorry." He talked dramatically, squeezing me tighter.

"You know how things just come out of my mouth. Motor-mouth. It's like, automatic, the things just come out and I can't stop them, I don't know why. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. Tell me you forgive me!" He pulled back, shaking my shoulders for effect. I laughed. Oh Jay, how could I ever doubt you? Whatever hurtful things he said, he could make up 10 times over with apologies.

"It's okay. Really. No worries." I smiled hugging him for good measure. He pulled back.

"Oh good. That was a close one." He sighed dramatically, but I knew to him, he really meant it. I smiled looking over at Cate who just rolled her eyes in response. I'm surprised they didn't get stuck that way, you know, endless rolling eyes. That'd be weird.

My intense pictures were interrupted though, with footsteps and a big 'thunk'.

"Dude! There you are!" Nate burst through the door, looking winded and adorably cute. I shook my head in attempt to shake off that thought as I listened to what Nate had to say.

"I couldn't find you anywhere! I thought you fell in the lake again or something! Don't ever scare me like that again!" He yelled dramatically, throwing his hands up in the air. I bit my lips to keep from laughing at all the flashbacks of Jay's lake experiences.

"Dude, I have learned from my mistakes and moved on. And I told you I'd be in the girl's cabin! You never listen to me! Why doesn't anybody listen to me?" He asked, a somewhat hurt look on his face as he looked around at all of us. Nate sighed.

"I'm sorry, man. I've just been kind of distracted. You know I listen." Nate said seriously as he walked over to where all three of us were weirdly intertwined with each other's bodies. Apparently, he finally noticed.

"What happened here?" He inquired, his hand sweeping over the tangle-zone. I laughed.

"Long story." Cate mumbled, as we all started to get up, all the limbs finally untangling to their rightful owners. Nate extended his hands to Cate and me, pulling us up. I smiled, thanking him as I walked over to the mirror to straighten out my ruffled appearance.

I saw Nate standing a couple feet behind me, watching me with a curious look. I turned around and smiled, taking a couple steps over to him as I heard Cate and Jason get into one of their arguments about how Cate is right and Jason is wrong. But I tuned them out though as I put my hand on my hip.

"What, no hug?" I asked teasingly. He smiled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Nope." He shrugged. I gasped, crossing my arms.

"Well, fine, be that way." I turned on my heel and started to stomp back towards the mirror. But before I could get far, I felt two warm arms wrap around my shoulders tightly, bring me back. I smiled and fell back into the embrace.

"Sorry." He mumbled in my hair as I turned around to tangle my arms around his neck.

"Mhm. Sure." I mumbled back, still completely lost in the moment. His grip tightened.

Unfortunately for us, we both have annoying friends.

"You two ready yet? You've been in that hug for like, 5 minutes." Cate's amused voice seeped through our in embrace as we both jumped a little. I saw Nate roll his eyes, causing me to send him a look.

"Yeah, Cate, were ready." He mumbled, as he nodded for me to go first, following everyone to the door.

"Uh, Mitch…aren't you supposed to be wearing shoes?" Jason asked, causing me to blink hard as I glanced down at my still bare feet. I blushed.

"Uh, right. Oops." I said, jogging back over to my closet to dig through the big pile of shoes on the floor that Cate and I shared.

"We'll catch up with you guys. Please try not to kill each other." I heard Nate say, I smiled as I continued to rummage. Okay…black boots, red boots. Uh, brown boots with gunk on it. Ew.

"I'd go with the black ones, their cute." I heard, whipping my head around. I laughed, turning back as I grabbed the black pair. I walked over to where Nate was leaning on the bed post and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling them on.

"So what are you? The male version of Chanel now or something?" I teased, as I walked over to the mirror for one last look.

"Yup, I am. And you look beautiful, so stop worrying and let's go." He winked, pulling my hand as we walked towards the door. I blushed at his comment.

"Thanks." I mumbled, turning the knob and stepping out. I saw him smile before following me out the door.

**-x-**

"Wow, I guess everyone _did_ decide to come." Jay stated the obvious as the four of us approached the jammed lakeside. Tonight was the Mid-Summer's Night Jam where a bunch of people who had a desire to show off their stuff, could. The bonfire was already going strong, and the grills surrounding the area were in full blast as some of the camp counselors stood tossing hamburgers and hotdogs around.

I felt an ache inside me as I not only remembered last summer, but I also remembered how Shane was supposed to be my date tonight. Sound stupid, right? It is. I mean, Shane was my boyfriend, so granted we'd go together. It still hurt though.

I felt a tug on my hand and looking up I was met with Nate's questioning eyes. I smiled, letting him know I was okay as we followed a still arguing Cate and Jason into the outskirts of the massive crowd.

I felt Nate let go of my hand, stepping forward a bit to talk to one of the counselors. I immediately felt empty, like Nate's small gesture filled that vacant hole inside of me. I shook my head and grunted. It was just my head messing with me, yeah, that's it. I nodded to myself determinedly as Lola took the stage, the crowd cheering and shouting words of encouragement. I stood on my tiptoes to try to get a good look at her performance. Curse my 5"2 stature and flat boots Nate insisted I wore. I couldn't see a thing. Sighing, I fell back on my heels, turning to Cate to try to amuse myself for a while.

Jay, Cate and I picked up an animated conversation of why coffee was better than tea. Man I need a life. As Jay started stating his opinion on the matter, I heard a voice I've really been trying to avoid for the past couple of days now. Sarah Night.

"So I heard Shane broken up with the wanna-be-singer. Oh, I mean you." She said menacingly, I could basically hear her smirking behind me. I closed my eyes and sighed. To put it in a nutshell, she was the Tess Tyler of last summer.

"Hey, now listen here you little blonde slu-" But I cut Cate off as I turned around to face my own problem.

"Oo. Now, now Caitlyn, let's not be mean." Sarah smirked, her hand on her hip. I started to put my hand out to stop the advancement I knew Cate would make, but Jason was already holding her back. I sighed, directing my eyes back over to Sarah.

"Sarah, just leave me alone. I don't really care what you have to say, nor do I feel like wasting my time listening to your wanna-be ego. So just go away, because I'm really not in the mood." I stated calmly and cool. I wasn't in the mood for a fight…or the hurt I knew she'd ensue. She smirked.

"Aw, is little Mitchie Torres heart broken?" She faked sympathy as her and her two little friends cooed. I rolled my eyes to try to mask over the pain her words were starting to make.

"Hey now, I don't think it's very nice to-" But I held up my hand to stop Jason. I was going to be the one to take this, my friends were not going to fight my fights for me, and I wasn't going to hide behind them. Sarah smirked at him, as she averted her ice-like eyes back to mine.

"Well, like I told you before. You weren't good enough, and you're _still_ not good enough. Shane is a rockstar hunny, and I'm surprised he even stayed with you this long. So be happy he broke up with you, because now he can find someone who's more…suited to be his girlfriend." She said, her condescending look coming down on me. My hands balled into fists as I tried to control the hurt and the anger pulsing through my veins. The tears poured into my eyes, and I blinked trying to hold them back. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to cry. But I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. I wasn't. No matter how much it hurt.

"Is something wrong here?" I blinked, looking over at Nate. His eyes looked into mine, giving me a concerned look as his shoulders already stood rigid, ready to step into whatever he might have to.

"Oh no, were quite all right here. Just getting ready to leave actually." She ran a slender hand down Nate's arm, all the while smirking at me. My jaw clenched and I saw Nate's did too. Bitch.

Before I could unscrew my locked jaw to give her a piece of my mind, she was gone, her little minions following her every move. I blinked hard, shaking my head as I tried to exhale, releasing the anger that was built up inside of me.

"Hey, what happened?" Nate asked, his hands on my upper arms, rubbing me softly. I shook my head, running a hand over my face.

"That bitch is what happened. Mitchie, how could you stand there and say nothing? Nothing! You should have let me at her, I could've taken her. She'd run away crying after the first nail she'd brake anyway." Cate said, her hands on her hips as her eyes flashed with anger. I had to let out a laugh.

"Cate, I don't want you or Jason fighting my fights for me. First of all, she just wanted to get to me, which is why I said nothing because I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. And two, she's not worth my time. If she wants to believe she's 'more suited' to be Shane's girlfriend, then I wish her all the best." I said, my hurt unwillingly being displayed for everyone to see. I saw Cate and Nate do their look thing again and I sighed. I was sick of everyone pitying me.

"So wait…Sarah was…okay, she was being mean to make you mad and…wait I don't….oh look! A bird!" Jason's confused face turned into one of awe as he ran past us to get a better look at his fascination. I shook my head and wondered why I couldn't be that carefree.

I looked up at my two friends who were still staring at me cautiously. I sighed and internally rolled my eyes.

"Look guys, I thought this would be fun, but I just…really don't thing I can handle it right now. I'm gonna go back to the cabin." I said, walking past them. I felt someone grab my arm.

"Mitch, you don't have to-" But I cut Cate off…again by shaking my head.

"I'll be fine. Really. I just…need time to think that's all. Please just stay here and don't worry. Go have some fun." I smiled at her for good measure, watching her eye me hesitantly.

"Mitch, you're my best friend, I shouldn't be partying when you're in pain!" She said, giving me a hug. I laughed lightly, pulling away.

"Cate, please, there's nothing that can be said anyway. Please, as your friend in pain, I'm telling you to go have fun. We can talk later, I promise." I said, trying to reassure the unusually concerned Cate in front of me. She sighed.

"Are you sure?" She asked. I smiled and nodded.

"Positive."

She nodded knowingly, gave me a quick hug, and went off, getting lost in the crowd. I sighed, and turned to start walking back towards my cabin.

"I'll walk you back." Nate said, taking a couple of long strides to reach where I already was. I shook my head again, forgetting he was still there.

"No it's okay. You go have fun too." I smiled as best I could, stopping to indicate my point. He shook his head though.

"I'm not one for partying when my friend is in pain either, and where not performing anyway, so, I'm walking you back." He stated, nodding his head. I let out another sigh, closing my eyes briefly. I love the fact that Nate cared, but I knew he'd end up staying, and I wasn't in the mood to feel jittery and subconscious about my every move like I knew I'd be if it was just me and him. Alone.

"Nate, really. You don't have to." I didn't want to be like 'dude, leave me alone.' But I was getting pretty frustrated with all of this pity. No, I wasn't frustrated, I was sick of it. But of course, Nate shook his head again.

"I want to." He stated simply, taking my arm, and gently pulling me with him. I groaned softly.

Great.

**-x-**

I threw off my boots, letting them land wherever as I carelessly rummaged through my drawers for pajamas. Not acknowledging Nate at all, I walked to the bathroom and shut the door, stripping out of my clothes and pulling on a plain red t-shirt and an old pair of dance shorts. I discarded the dirty clothes in the hamper and sauntered back out, falling belly first onto my bed, closing my eyes and trying to pretend I couldn't feel Nate's gaze on my back.

"Mitch, you wanna talk?" He asked the inevitable question. I shook my head no, still not looking at him. I could picture him nodding his head, his eyes glazing over with somewhat of a rejected look.

"Well, I'll be here if you need to." I heard. I tried to ignore the shivers his voice was giving me, and anger about what went on at the bonfire. I mumbled my response into my pillow.

I was angry. Angry I didn't have enough courage to stand up to Sarah. Angry I couldn't get over the fact my boyfriend dumped me. Angry that currently, shivers were running up and down my spine just from Nate's stare. And I was angry most of all that I was letting it happen. I was angry for my self for having these feelings and not being able to control them. I was so damn angry.

It was then, that my self-control shattered.

Sitting up and whipping my body around to look at Nate, my eyes filled with all the emotions I was feeling.

"Why?" I asked angrily. It briefly occurred to me that Nate didn't deserve my anger, and what was about to come. But hey, he 'wanted' to walk me back. I saw him swallow hard, giving me a hesitant look.

"Why what?" He asked as I stood up, starting to walk angrily around the room.

"Why did Shane break up with me? Hm? What'd I do? I had to have done something, I know it. And why couldn't I stand up to Sarah? I'm so goddamned tired of always trying not to pick a fight and doing what I think is best for everyone around me. I'm so damn sick of it. Sick of everyone pitying me, and talking behind my back – I know they do. They all look at me like I'm so fragile, just a piece of glass waiting to shatter. Everyone does, everyone single person and this god forsaken camp, including you." I whipped my body towards him, stomping over to where he was sitting.

"You look at me like I'm a porcelain doll. You think I'm so weak, so fragile. You do. I see the way you look at me. It's like you walk on glass around me because you're afraid I'll break." I gasped for air.

"Well just stop it! Just fucking stop it! I don't need your pity. I don't need it Nate! And I don't want it!" I yelled, pounding on his now standing figure as he tried to pull me into him. I struggled against his hold; he wasn't going to hug me. He wasn't going to whisper soothing things into my ear. He wasn't.

"No Nate! Let go of me! I don't want it! I don't want any of it! I just want it to go away! Just go away! I don't want you!" I yelled, wet droplets running down my cheeks. His hold softened and I pulled away from him.

"Mitchie, you don't mean that." He said, his sad look going full blast. I shattered a bit more to know I made him feel that way. The butterflies erupted inside of me as he stepped closer, trying to bring my rigid body to his. It made me angrier. I was so weak. It's like I needed Nate. I needed him. I needed him to hold me, I needed him to smile, I need him to make me happy. If he wasn't smiling, I hurt because he wasn't. And I was so angry he made me feel that way.

"Yes I do!" I screamed, pulling away from his grasp before I melted from his touch.

"I do mean it! I'm sick of it Nate! I'm sick of it! I don't want to feel this way! I _won't_ feel this way." I sobbed stepping backwards. I knew I was breaking him. I could see it in his eyes. The urge to try to make it better rushed through my body, and it made me furious.

"Feel what way baby?" He asked, his eyes so concerned, so caring. I breathed hard as the fury pulsed through me.

"I won't feel like I could melt every time you touch me. Like I can't live if you're not happy. I won't feel jittery just by you fucking looking at me. I won't. Every time you say my name, I want you to say it again. Every time you leave a room, I want you to come back. Every time you let me go after a hug, I want more. 5 freaking days after the guy I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with breaks up with me, and I can't even freaking breathe when you're anywhere around me. I won't feel like this. I _won't_. So just go away." I said, the tears flowing down my cheeks as I walked past his shocked form towards my bed. Before I could make a clean escape, his hand caught my arm, sending those same damn shivers bursting through me. I stood rigid, not turning around, barely breathing.

"Mitchie…" He whispered, running a hand over my hair so softly, I could barely feel it. But he did, I knew, because the warmth spread over me like an envelope, warming me to my core just by a soft touch. I closed my eyes tight, willing these emotions to go away. I shook my head.

"Nate, don't." For the first time, it sent a pain right to my heart that I was pushing away this guy that I cared so much about. It occurred to me that I didn't know why I was so scared. I didn't know why, I just was. I felt Nate gently, but firmly turn me around to face him. I looked everywhere but his eyes because I knew that one look, and I'd be lost.

"Baby, look at me." He said, pulling my chin up with his finger. Every touch, every movement just made me feel even weaker. I unwillingly looked into his eyes, and I was gone. I knew it.

"Baby, I know you're scared. And I know you feel so lost and torn up right now. I know it. But please don't push me away sweetheart. No matter how hard you try, I'm not going to let you." He stated, making my heart flutter. I looked down only to have him pull my chin back up.

"Mitch, look at me. I love you…I _love_ you." He repeated with so much emotion, it tore at me. I started to sob again; I didn't know why I was so freaking scared. Why did I have to feel this way?

"I've loved you for so long now. But I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to do. You need time to sort everything out, I understand. But I'll be here when you're ready." His angel-like voice absorbed into my ears.

"And Mitchie? You need to know I'll never hurt you. I'll never walk away from you, I promise." His chocolate eyes looked right into my heart. He continued to wipe away my tears as I listened, trying to make myself understand everything he was telling me. I took in a shaky breath, pulling away from his warm hands.

"Promise is a big word, Nate." I stated. I wasn't going to let myself get hurt again. No matter how much I was falling for Nate, and knew I'd never be able to get over another scenario like Shane's. That I knew, I wasn't strong enough for. He nodded, pulling my body back to his.

"I know Michelle, and I'd never say anything that I didn't mean." He spoke with certainty, his eyes serious. I shivered. He never calls me by my real name – ever. I knew he meant what he said. I smiled as best I could and nodded, reaching up to touch his cheek, gently rubbing circles with my thumb. He glanced down and took hold of my other hand, bringing it up and laying it on his chest, pressing down on it gently. I looked at him confused as he moved my hand over to the left a little.

"You feel that?" He asked, as I continued to caress his cheek. He let go of my hand to bring me a bit closer. I nodded, feeling the thumping of his heart and wondering why it felt so fast to me.

"That's how you make me feel Mitchie. That's how you've always made me feel. Ever since that day we performed here last summer. That's how you make me feel. Every time I see you smile, or hear your name, or you walk into a room, even when you were with Shane. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think straight. I still can't because this is what you do to me Mitchie, and I'd never trade it for anything." He whispered as he eyes glazed over with tears. There was only one word to describe how I felt at that moment: speechless.

I never felt so loved, or appreciated. I never felt so whole as when our bodies were together, and when he whispered those words to me, I knew I'd fallen for him. Hard.

"You don't have to say anything. Just know that when you're ready, I'll be here. But until then, I'll just be your friend." He smiled, laying his lips on my forehead, and lingering. I closed my eyes, letting the sensation run through my body, and for once, I didn't fight it.

He pulled away, running a hand over my head again, before he walked to the door, and disappeared into the darkening night.

**XXXX**

Okay, wow…phew. Allright, before you guys go all hypocrite on me for this ending, let me explain. I've been thinking about it, and I thought it would be best for them to just tell their feelings to each other. It would start getting really awkward and weird if it kept going on like it was, plus Mitchie would be even more torn.

You get me?

So they are _not_ dating, just to clear that up.

And just FYI, I'm so happy to let you all know that I finally have that plot mapped out. -dances-

The ending I'm still not completely certain about, but I finally know what I'm writing! Haha.

Well, PLEASE review and tell me your thoughts. I quite liked this chapter actually, and I hope you guys did too.

So the quicker you review, the quicker I'll start working on the next chapter!

Love & Connect 3

OH, oh! Before I forget!

**Check out my Community under the Camp Rock section. It's entitled ~Nitchie Love~.**

**Subscribe, and PM me if you're interesting in being a staff member. **

Thank guys!


	7. I Just Can't Let You Go

Hey my lovely readers! Thank you so much for all your amazing reviews and support. I really hope you all will continue to read this story, and please continue to leave your thoughts! This chapter was kind of inspired by Jesse McCartney's song "Can't Let You Go." I was listening to it while I was writing and I guess it just kind of made it's way in here. So listen to it! Or...look up the lyrics or something. I sort of based how Mitchie feels off of some of the things in the song.

**Just FYI**: I was thinking about doing some one-shots, maybe song based, so if you'd like to request one, PM me and we'll talk. =)

Happy Reading!

**XXXX**

**-Next Day-**

I waved goodbye to Cate as we separated, going our own ways for the today's classes. I adjusted my bag somewhat nervously as I walked the all too familiar path towards the dance cabin. They had found someone to replace Shane, at least temporarily, and I was, well, nervous. Not because of the new instructor, but because of all the memories in that cabin.

_-Flashback- _

"_Shane! Where are we going? Where gonna get in trouble!" I said, giggling as we ran through the rain, Shane holding my hand for guidance through the pitch blackness. _

"_Oh Mitch, live a little! And I told you, it's a surprise." I heard him say, continuing to pull me down a path I had no idea where it led. I pouted, even though I knew he couldn't see it. He drags me out, in the rain, 3 in the morning, I wanted to know why! I stopped running, making him fling backwards at my sudden action. _

"_What's wrong?" He asked. I could barely see him, but I could feel his warm breathe on my face, and I could feel his hard body pressed against my arm. I smiled, grabbing his wet shirt and pulling his lips onto mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he immediately responded; winding his arms around my waist, bring me even closer to his oh-so-amazing body. I teasingly bit his bottom lip, pulling gently at it as I let my fingers get lost in his thick, wet hair. I heard him moan, making me smile as I completely controlled everything we were doing. _

_I pulled back slightly as I kissed down to his jaw line, lightly biting and sucking on the wet, warm flesh there. I heard him groan again somewhat hungrily, and I shivered in excitement from knowing I could do this to him. _

"_Mitchie, stop…" He growled, his hands sliding further down my back, resting right above my butt. I giggled, stepping onto my tiptoes to whisper in his ear._

"_What's the surprise Shane?" I purred, nibbling on his ear lightly. I knew I had him right where I wanted him._

_He rubbed his nose teasingly against my soaked hair, his mouth getting closer to my ear. I felt his hot breath, and knew what was coming. _

"_No." He stated, pulling back as he started to walk again, pulling me along with him. My jaw dropped. _

"_What!" I practically yelled, I knew what I did always worked – always. He laughed, pulling me closer as we continued to walk. _

"_You're just gonna have to wait, sorry baby." He laughed again, quickly kissing my lips and then picking up the pace. I blindly followed; I was still too shocked to really understand what was going on. _

_Before long, I felt his pace slowing down. Squinting, I made out the figure of the dance cabin. The dance cabin? __**That's **__why he dragged me out here. He suddenly stopped and I found myself standing at the bottom of the steps, looking at Shane like the crazy person he was._

"_**This**__ is why yo-" But his lips cut me off, as he ran his fingers gently down my cheek. I shivered as he leaned his forehead against mine._

"_I'm going to go and turn on the lights, and you're going to stay right here until I flick them on and off. Then you come in. Okay-dokey?" He said, smiling as the rain continued to beat down on us. I shook my head and laughed. I guess this is what you get when you date Shane Grey, aka, the guy who thinks his ideas are the brightest in the world. _

"_Yeah, okay loverboy. But if I get sick because of this, I'm blaming it all on you." I said glaring at him teasingly. He wiggled his eyebrows._

"_Maybe we can get sick together…" He trailed off, kissing the corner of my mouth softly. I pulled back and punched him in the chest teasingly. _

"_Go turn on the lights Romeo." I said rolling my eyes as he started jogging up the steps, his laugh trailing back to me through the wind. _

_As soon as he opened the door and disappeared inside, I instantly felt alone and vulnerable. I wasn't a very independent person when it comes to things like this. Wrapping my arms around myself, I nervously looked around in the rain. Every little movement, every little sound sent shivers up my body. I was so relieved when I finally saw the lights flick on and off. _

_Jogging up the steps and onto the porch, I basically threw open the door like a mad woman, bursting inside. Leaning over on the door frame to catch my breath, I saw the lights go off again and heard soft music start to play. Blinking and letting my eyes adjust, I looked around, and was met with the most beautiful scene. It took my breath away. _

_There was Shane, hair a mess, soaking wet, and looking as gorgeous as ever, holding a single red daisy – my favorite. _

_Behind him, the studio was ablaze with candles, everywhere. On the shelves, on the floor, on the walls. It was break taking. A big blanket with pillows and a picnic basket were in the middle, with candles surrounding it. _

_I looked back up at Shane, gaping. I couldn't believe it. He'd never done anything like this before, it was so…so, beautiful. He slowly walked towards me, but I hardly noticed, I was still concentrating on how amazing this all was. _

_When I finally looked back up at him, he was already right in front of me, smiling that smile that always made me weak, holding out the flower to me. I shakily reached for it, but instead, he caught my hand, intertwining it with his as he pulled me close to him. _

"_I love you Mitchie." His voice deep and husky. It sent shivers down my spine. I smiled up at him. _

"_I love you too Shane." I said, forcing body to breathe properly. He grinned, backing up at bit and slowly getting down on one knee. I gasped. _

"_Oh Shane, I'm not eloping with you." My voice sped out before I could catch it. What was he doing? He laughed, getting back up as he pulled a heart shaped box out of his pocket. I looked at him confused. _

"_I'm not proposing angel, I promise. But it's a good thing we're not near Vegas though, cause it'd be a big temptation." He winked teasingly as he slowly opened the box showing a green encrusted 'S' with a little green heart in the corner. I bit my lip and grinned, looking up at him with tears in my eyes._

"_Shane?" I questioned as he shakily took the necklace out of the box. He nodded, smiling. I could tell he was nervous, I'd never seen him look so insecure before. Smiling to myself, I gently kissed him, letting him know it was all right. He slowly opened his eyes and grinned, motioning for me to turn around. Lifting my still wet hair up, he put the necklace on, and smiled, lightly touching it. I turned back around, softly touching his cheek. _

_He smiled lightly, taking my hands. _

"_I had this whole amazing speech planned out in my head and right now I have no idea what it was. But I just…I love you Mitchie, you're my baby. And I wanted you to know that. I know sometimes I still get carried away with the media and 'the image' and everything, but I needed you to know that none of that matters as much as you. You've put up with so much from me, and even though I don't tell you it as much as I should, I love you. I do, angel. And I just…needed you to know that." His deep brown eyes burned with love as he looked into mine. I took in a shaky breath, the tears freely falling now. He smiled lightly, wiping my tears away as he pressed his lips against mine… _

_-End Flashback-_

I blinked back the tears, shaking my head to try to make the memories some how go away. That had been the night I almost gave myself to him – almost. My heart ached for Shane, I couldn't try to deny it anymore. I still loved him. I probably would always love him, no matter if I was falling for Nate or not. Shane would always be my first love, and I couldn't keep telling myself I was over him. I wasn't.

God, the boy tore my heart out, and I still love him, so much. I sniffed, jogging the rest of the way to the cabin and running up the steps, keeping my head down to try and hide the tears. I settled in the back corner, feeling like I was reliving the day after Shane found out about me lying. It was the same damn corner that I sat in crying as he openly bashed me.

I shook my head again, cursing myself for letting my mind wander into memory land in the first place.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I tried to ignore them all, busying myself with some random thing in my bag. I didn't want their pity and I could careless what they all thought. I felt someone come up and sit beside me and already knowing who it was, I didn't even look up.

"Hey Mitch, you okay?" Tess asked, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. I smiled. At least Tess had truly changed for the better. I looked over at her and nodded, putting in a light smile for good measure. She looked at me questioningly for a few seconds, but quickly smiled and nodded.

"Okay, well if you need anything, you know where to find me." She said, putting her hand on my shoulder one last time before standing up and walking over to wherever she came from. I sighed, you know it's really bad when you've got Tess Tyler pitying you. I mean granted, she has changed, she's not an egotistical bitch anymore, but she still has some major drama queen issues to work out. Bottom line, she's still not the nicest person you'll ever meet, so when you start getting her sympathy, things are going really bad for you.

Rolling my eyes and pulling my knees up, I buried my head in my hands, really hoping this new instructor would show up soon.

The door opened, and slammed closing hard, making everyone look towards that direction. The new instructor. Speak of the devil.

"Are you ready to dance?" The person shouted. Everyone shouted their agreement with confused faces.

"I can't hear you!" The person shouted again, still hidden by the darkness of the hallway. Okay, why does his voice sound so familiar? Everyone shouted louder this time.

"That's more like it!" And out jumped…

Jason?

What? What was he doing here? I stood up quickly, confused out of my mind. Jay doesn't dance…

"Jay, what are you doing here?" I asked as everyone displayed their disbelief and confusion on their faces.

"Instructing, silly!" He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. He grinned as he happily bounced over towards the stereo, inserting a CD in. Okay, now I'm confused. I looked over at Tess, who just shrugged back at me, looking just as confused.

"But dude, you…you don't dance." One of the guys said. I cleared my throat feeling really awkward. Not that I don't love Jay, but um…I've seen him try to dance before. White boy can't dance. I shook my head quickly, wanting those memories to go away fast.

Jay was the best they could do? I felt sorry for everyone who was going to have to see this.

"Oh really? Watch me." He said, pressing play and smiling as the music started.

Oh lord.

**-x-**

"Oh my gosh! That was amazing!" Everyone shouted, surrounding Jason and complimenting him. I, Michelle Torres, was stunned.

Jason just danced…better than Shane? Was that possible? Really. Jason. Like, Jason, Jason.

I waited for the crowd to die down around him and walked over.

"And uh, where did you learn to do all of that? And why have you never danced like that before?" I asked, truly shocked. I'm not sure how much more of being shocked I can take. He put his hand on his hips, taking a pose of irritation.

"Why do people always think I can't dance?" He asked, looking somewhat hurt. I blinked.

"B-because I've like, seen you before and…I um, you don't uh…" I blushed, feeling a bit like an idiot. Okay a lot. He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively.

"That dancing before? I was just being crazy." He laughed, turning back to the stereo. I furrowed my eyebrows. Um, okay then. Life's full of surprises I guess.

I turned around, and started walking back. Yeah, this definitely trumps all dumbfounded situations I've ever been in.

**XXXX**

Okay, I know this is a bit of a pointless chapter, but I really felt I needed to write it. I mean, I wanted to show Mitchie and Shane's relationship before everything and show that Shane wasn't always an ass.

I know I kind of went HSM2 on you in that flashback, but oh well, I felt like it. Lol. And I thought it would be kind of uplifting to end the chapter this way. Anywho…the next chappie will be more um, filled? Haha, it'll definetley be more on the Nitchie side, I just wanted to show that Mitchie was still very much heartbroken.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! And please review! My goal is to try to have 100 reviews by the 9-10 chapter. Hopefully you amazing readers can make it happen!

Love & Connect 3


	8. I Have a Revelation!

Sorry it took so long for me to update, I've had a mild case of writer's block. I mean, I know the general plot of the story; I just don't have every idea planned out.

I just wanted to let you all know that I probably won't be posting frequently, which sucks because I know I hate when writers do this, BUT, I have a valid reason…drum roll please!

**My brother just got engaged!** How awesome is that? Not to mention the girl he's marrying is just about the most amazing girl ever, plus I get to move into his room so I absolutely love her to death now.

So, it's a long story but her and I have become really close friends, and she asked me to be her maid of honor! So I'm going to be SUPER busy planning a lot of stuff considering the wedding is in early April. Yeah, leave it to my brother to torture me one last time with a short engagement.

WOW, long A/N….okay I'll shutup now…well I probably won't. You'll be hearing a lot about this in my notes from now on. Haha.

**But please bear with me! **I still have an insane amount of homework, plus work, plus the wedding now.

Okay, _now _I'll shutup. Lol.

Happy Reading!

**-x-**

**-Next Day-**

Music blasted from Cate's laptop as I continued to run a brush through my hair, having the warped notion that maybe if I did that long enough, my hair might actually do something. Sighing with frustration, I twisted the straight mess of hair and shoved a big clip into it. That should do it.

"So how'd Nate's class go today?" She questioned from her spot on her bed. I shrugged, turning around to casually make my way into the bathroom trying to hide the blush I knew was now on my cheeks.

"It went good. Can't complain." I tried to sound casual, but I knew that I was getting weaker by the second. Cate still didn't know about what had happened in the cabin after Nate had walked me back a couple of days ago, and I had planned to keep it that way. Obviously it wasn't going very well because I could hardly talk about – or to – Nate without breaking into an embarrassing blush, even my nose turned red. I'm sure Rudolph would be happy.

As I squirted toothpaste onto my brush, I saw Cate in the mirror, leaning against the doorway.

"Yeah, obviously. Every time I even mention Nate's name you blush like there's no tomorrow. What's been going on between you two?" She eyed my suspiciously as I shoved the brush in my mouth, giving me time to think up a good excuse.

I shrugged again.

"Nuffing." It came out, due to the object I was trying to shove down my throat to keep myself from anymore of what I call BNS, or more commonly known as, Blushing Nate Syndrome. She smirked, arching an eyebrow.

"Right. Well, I won't force you to tell me anything. Just answer one question for me." She said calmly. I leaned down to spit, confused as to why she was so mellow, usually she'd be half way down my throat trying to get the truth out.

"Shoot." I said before wiping my mouth and turning around to face her. She looked me dead in the eye.

"Do you still love Shane?"

My stomach knotted at the sound of his name. I really hoped we'd never have to have this conversation, but I guess I should have expected it. I saw her watching me intently as I looked down, trying to find something to fidget with. Realizing I had nothing but my hands, I looked back up at her, sighing.

"I'll always love Shane, I mean, he was my first love, heck he was my first boyfriend! Nothing will ever change that. But where over now, and I _can't_ change that…all I can do is accept it. Why do you ask?" I looked at her for answer. She bit her lip and shrugged.

"Because I'm your friend and I'm worried about you." She said solemnly as she turned and walked back over to her bed. I scrunched my eyebrows and followed.

"Worried? Why?" I asked, plopping down next to her.

"Because Mitch, I want you to be over Shane before you start falling for Nate." She said, giving me a knowing look. I looked down, putting my feet on the floor.

As much as I wanted to protest to what she was saying, I knew there was no use. She was right. I knew I needed to figure out my feelings before I hurt someone…or hurt myself.

"I just don't know, Cate. I'm so confused right now. I mean, I'm over the fact that Shane dumped me, granted, I still don't know why, but I've accepted it. What I can't get over is how much I still love him even after what he did, and I really can't get over how quickly I started liking Nate." I sighed, looking back over to her. She was giving me one of those "aha!" looks, which I ignored. I just took the opportunity to keep talking.

"I mean, I know Nate isn't just a rebound. He really isn't, I know I truly like him. I just can't get over how quickly I let myself like him. It feels like I'm cheating on Shane, you know? It's so weird. I'm not over Shane, yet I like Nate. God, my head hurts." I let myself fall back, hanging my hands over my head as Cate did the same.

"Well hun, can't say I've ever been in your position before. And I can't tell you what's right and what's wrong, but I can tell you to follow your heart. I know you're not over Shane, that'll probably take a while for you to fully be over him, but don't mess up a chance with Nate just because you feel guilty. Nate really likes you Mitch, I know he does. He's a good guy. Don't let a relationship that no longer exists get in the way of a relationship that could exist. Nate's to amazing of a person to do that to." She stopped for a second, and I let my head fall in her direction.

"But Mitch, you need to figure out what you're going to do before Nate or you get hurt. He won't wait forever Mitch, just remember that." She looked intently at me for a couple of seconds before getting up and walking out the door.

I sighed, at least she knew I needed alone time.

Everything Cate said was true. Freakishly true, might I add. I knew I needed to do something about all of the jumbled up emotions inside of me, not only for the sake of Nate, but for me to. I was so angry and mixed up and bitter inside that I couldn't think straight.

I sighed, closing my eyes to vigorously rub them, hoping that maybe it would clear the fog from my brain. Opening my eyes wide, I looked up at the ceiling, starting to sort out things in my head. I replayed all the memories of Shane I could think of – the good and the bad. I started with Camp last year, and slowly worked up until now. I started to realize something though, I had more sad times with Shane then I did good ones. We were usually always arguing over something. Or I was always hurt because he forgot to call when he promised he would; only to find out he was hanging with some girls from the meet-n-greets they had at their concerts. That happened more than I wish to admit. It seems like I was always hurt, or mad, or sad through almost every memory I had with Shane. Something was always wrong.

Why hadn't I'd seen it before? That's what was so upsetting. How couldn't I have seen how our relationship really was? Did it take me falling for Nate to realize how broken Shane and my relationship with him really was?

I sighed, upset with myself over everything. Starting to rub my head, I thought of something I used to do when I was little. You know how when little kids can't decide on something, they sing some weird rhyme to help them and which ever thing their finger lands on, they go with that?

Well, not me.

I took in a deep breath and relaxed, staring up at the ceiling again. I ran every memory I could think of about Shane and Nate through my mind. I just kept replaying them over and over again until I could hardly keep them straight, I didn't know where they were or who I was with, I just kept replaying them over and over, staring at the patterns in the ceiling. Then, snap.

I closed my eyes.

I smiled at the person who I saw first.

Opening my eyes once again, I pushed myself off the bed and walked into the bathroom.

I stared, for a couple seconds…or was it minutes? At the necklace I had grown so used to wearing. The little green heart glistened from the light in the bathroom and the "S" seemed like it was staring at me, mocking me. I blinked, reaching up to touch it lightly. Smiling, I reached behind my neck, unclasping it and letting it coil into the palm of my hand.

I was free.

Finally, I knew this chapter in my life was closed for me, I could feel it. And even though I knew it might take me a while to completely forget what I had with Shane, I knew that Nate and I would be even better together.

I closed my eyes, squeezing the necklace gently in my hand.

"Bye Shane." I whispered, letting the necklace drop and then coil into a corner on the counter.

As I walked out of the bathroom, I smiled.

**-x-**

I pulled the sides of my jacket closer to me as I took long steps towards the direction of Nate's cabin.

After Cate had come back, I told her what I had decided and she basically pushed me out of the door telling me not to come back until I knew Nate was mine. I laughed at her eagerness as I picked up my pace down the path.

I felt so good. It's like a huge weight had lifted from my shoulders. I finally knew what I wanted. And I finally knew I was going to be okay, and things were going to work out. Smiling, I broke into a jog, wanting Nate to know my decision as soon as possible.

I wanted to see his smile, feel his arms around me. I wanted to smell the scent I had grown to love so much. I wanted him.

As I ran up the steps of his cabin, I started to bang on the door, not realizing that it was almost midnight and he'd probably be asleep. At least he and Jason had different cabins because as much as I love Jay, I really didn't want him here for this. I saw a light flick on and heard him shuffling around the room.

Biting my lip, I lightly bounced up and down, partly from the cold, and partly from excitement. I saw the door come open halfway, and Nate stick his head out, blinking sleepily. Shivers ran down me just from seeing him.

"Mitchie?" He questioned, almost shocked as he took in my appearance. I couldn't wait any longer, I just couldn't.

"I want to be with you."

His eyebrows shot up.

God, why don't you just shout it from a cliff Mitch? Can you say desperate? I almost rolled my eyes from my own eagerness. But then I looked into his eyes, and I didn't care anymore. I just wanted to be with him.

"I _need_ to be with you, Nate. I-I can't keep lying to myself, not anymore. I want to be yours." I said, every word coming from my heart. My knees were shivering from the cold and my hands were shaking too, but it didn't matter. As soon as I saw his smile, it's like everything was okay. I knew it was. I knew I'd made the right choice. And I knew I'd fallen for him.

He opened the door, moving to the side to let me come in. I heard him close and lock it behind me, and I shivered in anticipation. I felt him slowly wrap his arms around my shivering body, and I instantly knew this is where I belonged. He ran his warm hands up and down my waist, and I sighed, leaning back against him.

I soon felt the most amazing feeling as his lips found my neck, kissing me gently. I almost groaned out of all the feelings that were running through me.

He slowly turned me around, and I was met by the most beautiful eyes. He looked down at me, running a finger down my cheek.

"Are you sure?" His husky voice made him even sexier. I smiled lightly; reaching up to ran a hand through his curls.

"Positive."

He grinned, kissing my forehead. But when he pulled back, his eyes were serious again.

"I love you, Mitchie." He said, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist. I smiled, snaking my arms around his neck to move closer.

"I think I'm falling for you, Nate." I whispered into his ear, then pulling back to look up at him.

We both stood there, in each others arms, just staring. I took in all the features of his face, his deep, deep brown eyes, his soft, smooth skin, his…aerodynamic hair. I giggled at that thought, snapping as both out of the moment. He gave me a questioning look.

"What?"

"Your hair…it's so…awesome." I laughed, springing one of them to emphasize my point. He laughed.

"Well, thank you. I like yours too, it's so…shiny." He gave me a slightly confused look, as if asking if that was okay to say.

"Thanks." I laughed, finding him very amusing. But as the laughter died down, I bit my lip lightly, pulling him closer to me.

"Kiss me." I said softly. God, I wanted him to so bad. I wanted to get lost in the feeling, I wanted to feel his body so close to mine.

His eyes darkened again as he leaned down, brushing his lips down my cheek, towards the corner of my mouth. He pulled back slightly, brushing some hair from my face and placing his hand on the back of my neck before gently laying his lips on mine.

I almost sighed in content. His kisses were everything I wished for and more. It felt so good, the way he held me, and I felt like nothing could touch us.

But all too soon, he pulled back. I let my eyes flutter open a bit, just to find the back of his neck.

"No, I need more…" I whispered, pulling his lips back to mine. Butterflies erupted inside of my stomach as Nate deepened the kiss, running his hands up and down my waist. I shivered, standing up on my toes and running my fingers through his hair. I couldn't get enough of him.

His tongue ran lightly across my lip, and I wasted no time in granting his request. I vaguely felt him taking off my jacket, never breaking our kiss as he started to walk until I could feel my legs hit the bed. We continued to kiss as I kicked off my shoes, not caring one bit where they landed. Suddenly, Nate pulled back, panting as he leaned his forehead against mine.

"Stay with me tonight?" He breathed out. My heart caught in my throat. Oh my god, was he asking me to sleep with him?

"I-I…um….Nate I-" I stumbled over my words. I didn't know what to say.

"No baby, I'm not asking you to…do that. I just want you to be with me tonight. Please?" I swear his eyes took on a puppy-dog look. Was Nate capable of that? Well, if he was or not, it worked for me. Because I wanted to be with him to, I just wanted to be near him. I slowly nodded my head, making him smile as he leaned down again and kissed me.

But he pulled back quickly, reaching around me to open a drawer. He took out a red, plaid shirt, handing it to me. I took it, looking up at him weirdly. I knew this was one of his favorite shirts, was I supposed to give him something?

"Um…am I supposed to give you my favorite pair of underwear or something?" I asked which made him start to laugh.

"What?" I questioned, putting a hand on my hip. It was a valid question! Why was he laughing?

"No, sweety. I gave you that so you could change into something to sleep in, I didn't think you'd want to wear skinny jeans to bed." He said, still laughing from my previous statement. I flipped my hair, feeling so embarrassed.

"Right." I said, turning and walking towards his bathroom.

"But if you want to give me a pair of your undergarments…I wouldn't object." He said. I whipped around, letting my mouth hang open.

"Nate!" I said, hitting his arm. He continued to laugh, holding up his hands.

"I'm kidding! Mitch, you know I'm not like that." He said, still laughing lightly. I narrowed my eyes.

"Mhm." I mumbled, walking into the bathroom. Closing the door, I leaned against it, letting everything sink in. I couldn't believe it. Everything was just so overwhelming. But for some reason, it felt good. It felt right. I bit my lip, smiling as I looked down at the shirt.

I took off my clothes, folding them and leaving them on the counter. I quickly pulled the shirt over me, realizing just how small I was compared to Nate. When he wore this shirt, his arm muscles were basically bulging out of it. I looked in the mirror, and it really did look like a pajama top. The sleeves covered my hands, almost going past them. The shirt itself came down to my mid-thigh. As I surveyed myself in the mirror, I knew I could totally work this. As I moved back and forth, I caught a whiff of his cologne.

I smiled, pulling up the collar and breathing deeply. It smelled so good.

But I quickly snapped my eyes open, feeling like a total dork. I shook my head trying to clear it as I turned off the light and opened the door. Nate was already laying on the bed, vigorously writing something down in his notebook. I smiled, knowing him, it was probably a song.

I was almost half way across the room when he finally broke his concentration, realizing that I was there. His eyes widened slightly, and I watched him run his eyes over me. I smiled, biting my lip.

"Whatcha writing about rockstar?" I asked seductively, kissing his cheek lightly. He smiled a bit, looking up at me as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You." He said.

My breath caught in my throat from his bluntness. I smiled inside though. If he can make my heart flutter, let's see what I can do to him.

"Well…why don't you do that later…and let's see what you can do now?" I whispered as I took his notebook and pen and sat them on the nightstand as I slowly got on top of him, straddling his legs. I almost laughed at his expression. He almost looked like a little kid getting a present for Christmas that he had no idea what to do with.

I let my arms rest on his shoulders as I started to kiss along his jaw line. I knew when he finally snapped out of his daze because he rested his hands on my bare thighs, rubbing slow circles there.

"You look so good in my shirt." His husky voice sent shivers down my spine. I smirked.

"I bet you wouldn't look good in my underwear." I chuckled at that mental image as I kissed him one last time, running my fingers over his broad chest. I pulled back, smiled, and rolled off of him onto the other side of the bed, shimmying under the covers.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" He asked as I felt him getting under the covers too.

"Um, sleeping? You my friend might not have to teach until 9, but I have a class at 7 so go to sleep." I said, trying with all my might to keep the humor out of my voice. I couldn't wait to see what he did.

"But Mitchie…" He whined as he scooted closer to me, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"But Nate…" I mocked back. I no sooner felt his lips attach to my neck. I groaned.

"Nate, that's no fair. I can't go to sleep with you doing that." I whined even though I was loving every second of his lips on me. I could feel him smiling.

"Are you implying that my kisses distract you and make you crazy?" He asked teasingly. I rolled my eyes, if you only knew.

"No, I'm implying that your kisses are wet and sloppy and I can't sleep with you making sucking noises on me." I snapped back. God, I wish it wasn't so dark, his face would be priceless.

"What!" He half-yelled, sitting up on the bed. I laughed, pulling him back down.

"I'm joking baby, I love your kisses." I said, pulling his lips onto mine for one last time before I snuggled into him as he tucked in the covers around us.

"I love you, Mitchie." Nate whispered before silence set in all around us. As I thought about the events of tonight, and felt Nate's soothing circles on my back, I couldn't think of anywhere I wanted to be more.

Happy and contented for the first time in a long time, I slowly fell asleep, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart.

**XXXX**

So, what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Sad? Haha. Let me know your thoughts! So, keep in mind that neither of them have purity promises, just to clear that up.

I actually really like this chapter; I thought it turned out okay.

I'm thinking this will be a fairly short story, maybe only 15 chapters or so, I'm not sure yet.

Well, leave me a review! I appreciate each one so much.

**Oh! Please check out my one-shot called "Unfaithful", you can get the link on my profile. **

Thanks so much guys!

Love & Connect 3


	9. Bumps in the Road and Birdhouses to Boot

So, hopefully you guys enjoy this update. I warned ya'll, I was going to be extremely busy. Which makes me incredibly tired, which makes me bitchy. So I'm really trying to not let it soak through into my writing, but I can only help that so much.

This chapter and I'm thinking the next one also will be more of filler chapters and complete Nitchie fluff, just a heads up.

Oh and by the way, this chapter is **dedicated **to the amazing **LittleRedOne**, aka, Kelly. She's been really awesome to me, listening to me ranting on stuff and she never complains, plus she's got the most amazing stories ever – check them out! So here's to you Kelly! I tried to put as much total Nitchie in it as I could for you, haha.

Well, enjoy everyone!

**XXXX**

**-1 week later-**

"Nate! Give me my phone!" I giggled, standing on my tiptoes in vain, trying to reach the object that Nate was currently holding way above my 5"2 stature. It was Friday evening, and Nate and I were down by the lake, standing on the dock.

"Don't think so." His lop-sided little smile came out again. I jumped lamely in the air again, trying to grab it and he easily dodged my hand.

"Whyyy." I wined, pouting. He laughed lightly, still holding it out of my reach.

"That's not going to work Mitchie. And you're not getting it back because I want to spend time with you. Not you and our phones. Just _you_." He said, touching my chin lightly. I frowned, narrowing my eyes.

"Nathaniel, give me my phone." I lowered my voice to a dangerous level. His eyes widened briefly, but he quickly shook that off.

"Uh-uh." He said, hiding a grin. I sighed, brushing a piece of my bang out of my eye. His hand still held the phone up high, and I leaped again, missing it by only and inch. A light bulb soon clicked on in my head, and I poked his armpit, wiggling my finger a bit, using my other hand to tickle his stomach. He laughed loud, shaking his head.

"Not gonna work babe, I'm not ticklish." He said and I about died. What! No, that wasn't possible. I sighed again, putting a hand on my hip. Well, a girls gotta do what girls gotta do. I quickly closed the gap between us, pulling the collar of the plaid shirt he had on, and crashed my lips into his.

He didn't respond at first, but I soon felt his arms start to loosen up as they wound themselves around my waist. I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck and standing on my tiptoes, deepening the kiss. I heard him moan and I laughed evilly inside. Before I let him make any attempts to satisfy the solution to his moans, I quickly pulled back and snatched the phone out of his hand, running off the dock and back into the woods again.

"Mitchie!" I heard him whine, and I laughed, stopping and turning around.

"Nate." I whined back. He stopped his progression, and I looked seductively at him from the 5 or so feet away from each other we were.

"Mitchie, get you pretty little butt over here." He said huskily as he slowly started to walk towards me, I followed as I started walking backwards.

"Or what, Nate? Hm?" I asked, biting my lip and raising an eyebrow as we both continued to walk slowly.

"I'll make you my love slave." His deep voice sent shivers down my spine. I smiled seductively.

"Gotta catch me first." I said, giggling lightly before turning and running away from him. I laughed to myself as I heard his distinct footsteps running after me. I picked up my pace, knowing he'd reach me any minute, but loving the feeling of what teasing him gave me.

I was right because as soon as I reached the big boulder, indicating we were halfway back to camp, I felt his strong arms wrap around me from behind. I squealed, laughing.

"No! I don't want to be a love slave! You'll lock me up forever!" I said dramatically, laughing as he spun me around, and then set me down again. He turned me around gently, and that's when I saw just how much lust and passion were in his eyes. He smiled crookedly, as he started backing me up, and I immediately felt my back come up against the smooth coolness of the big boulder.

"Like you wouldn't love it." He whispered in my ear, biting it gently. I gasped, knowing the feelings we both were about to confront were going to be like nothing we'd ever experienced. I'd never seen so much passion and eagerness and…love in someone's eyes before.

"I wouldn't." My lie cracked easily by the stare he had set on me. He smirked, as if knowing something I didn't.

"Just promise me you'll let my parents know how much I love them!" I said dramatically, making both of us laugh lightly as he settled one of his arms over my head.

"I will." He whispered, and he then settled his lips over mine. I moaned into the kiss, tangling my fingers in his all too amazing hair. His other hand found its way onto my waist, and he depended the kiss even more by standing as close to me as he could, making my back press into the rock. Like I cared.

I bit his lip hungrily, as I silently asked for entrance. He didn't resist. As we both battled each other, both of his hands found their way to the sensitive skin right under my shirt, and I gasped in pleasure. Everything I was feeling, all the emotions pulsing through my veins, everything just felt so good – so _right_.

I softly ran my fingers over his strong chest, and then down his arms, and back up to his neck again. I gently stroked the soft skin there before breaking our now very heated kiss and letting my lips trail down to his jaw, kissing his warm skin all over.

I couldn't get enough of him.

As my lips trailed down further, I finally found his sweet spot as I felt him shiver lightly, moaning.

"Mitchie…" He sounded so out of breath, so raspy, so…_sexy_. I smiled, letting my tongue tease that spot, knowing how crazy it would make him. I was right. He soon pulled away, looking disheveled and messy. The look couldn't have fit him better. Expecting him to start kissing me again, I gasped as his lips connected with my exposed neck. I closed my eyes in pleasure, letting my fingers loose themselves in his hair again.

His strong hands ran down my sides, quickly finding their way to the place right under my butt. I felt him easily lift me up as I wrapped my legs around his waist, the rock still supporting us. He never missed a beat as he went back to kissing my neck, his hands stroking my thighs. I felt like my eyes were gonna roll back into my brain.

Was it supposed to feel this good?

God I didn't care, especially after his lips landed on the base of my neck, where it connected with my collarbone. He bit the skin there lightly, kissing and gently sucking as he made his way down to where my tank top started. Between his hands on my legs, and his lips on my sensitive area, a groaned soon escaped my lips.

"Oh, _Nate_…" I moaned out, and I could feel his smile against my skin. He knew just how to make me weak, and you know what? I didn't care. I loved it.

"Oh baby, say my name again." He whispered, kissing his way back up to my neck.

"Nate…Nate…oh, _Nate_…" I gasped at all the sensations running through me. How come I'd never felt this way with Shane before? Why didn't it ever feel so good? Was it because I _truly_ loved Nate?

His lips were on mine again, and I couldn't have been happier. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck again as our kiss quickly became heated. His thumbs gently rubbed circles on the skin underneath of my shirt and I loved it.

As his fingers started to trail just a bit higher, the intercom system back at camp noisily screeched on. We both groaned, breaking our kiss.

"All campers back to your designated cabins please. Head count will be in 10 minutes." We heard Brown's wife's cheery voice say over the speakers and we both groaned again.

I slowly look up into his eyes and laughed as he rolled them.

"Just when it starts to get good, right?" I asked teasingly. He smiled.

"It's always good with you." I blushed, looking away. I felt his finger turn my head back to his.

"Don't be embarrassed. It's true." He whispered, and I blushed again, but I didn't look away this time. We just continued to look into each others eyes before I felt my self start to slip a little.

"Better let me down…" I said semi-awkwardly, laughing a bit. He laughed too, as he slowly let my legs drop back to the ground, his arms securely around my waist.

"Thanks." I whispered, biting my lip. He smiled, kissing me lightly. As both of our legs straightened out, I felt something pressing against my upper thigh, and I furrowed my eyebrows, looking down, and that's when I saw…_it_.

I didn't know whether to laugh or be slightly scared at the rock hard bulge in his pants. But as I stared, I found the situation really funny and I started giggling, which turned into a full-on laugh. Nate looked at me confused before looking down at the source of what caused me to laugh, and his head snapped right back up, blushing like crazy. I laughed harder.

"It's good to know yours works, baby." I giggled, earning a deeper blush and a hard glare from Nate. I laughed again, standing up to kiss his cheek softly. I had to say it.

"It's your fault." He spat out, still blushing and glaring. I laughed, kissing him on the lips quickly before slipping out from his grasp and picking up my almost forgotten phone and starting to walk in the direction of camp.

"I'm just teasing, Nate. Besides, it's good to know I can do that, were gonna need it someday." I laughed out, stopping and turning briefly to look back and see his blush spread to his nose and ears, making him look utterly cute. He soon gave me a hard glare, still blushing, as he started running towards me.

I squealed, giggling as I turned and started running…again.

**-x-**

**-Next Afternoon-**

"Ew! That is so nasty! Ew! Why'd you have to tell me that, now I'll never think of Nate in the same way again!" Cate's disgusted face made me start giggling as I finally ended the story of what Nate's…lower parts did yesterday. She playfully slapped me again as she made gagging noises and fell over on the bed we were both sitting on. I started laughing harder, watching her act in her over dramatic way.

"It's true though! I didn't know whether to laugh or be mortified! That never happened with Shane before!" I said, shivering a little myself. In the past couple of weeks, I've found it easier and easier to talk about Shane. Granted, the hurt was still there, but it wasn't because of us not being together anymore, it was more because of the way he ended and then left. It still peeved me to no end that nobody knew where he was. He was such a coward.

"Oh come on! I'd always find you guys making out!" Cate said, gagging again. I laughed.

"Hunny, Shane was always turned on, and it didn't take me to do that." I said bitterly, remembering times where I'd catch him staring at another girl, hungriness burning in his eyes. Asshole.

After last night, I laid in my bed wide awake, thinking about why I never felt so loved with Shane as I did with Nate, and I think it finally hit me. Most every time Shane and I would get into it, all I could see was lust and hungriness, never love. That's what made Nate so different from Shane. I could always see the love in Nate's eyes – always. Shane only showed it when it was convenient for him.

"Oh well, at least he's done and over with. Don't need to worry about his shit anymore." Cate said, stretching out on the bed. I smiled. Yeah.

I followed suit, laying down and stretching out. As she asked me a question in her normal Cate way, making us both start to laugh, Nate and Jason busted through the door, causing us both to sit up startled.

"Oh good, you both are in here." Nate said, relieved. I sat in confusion. Huh?

"Of course where both in here Nate the Great and why do you look like you're gonna drop over, clutching your chest at any minute?" Cate asked sarcastically. Nate, who would normally roll his eyes, just walked towards the bed, throwing a magazine down by me. I looked up at him confused.

"That's why." He said, in a low voice. I looked over at Cate, who shrugged as I slowly picked up the article and turned it over, gasping as I read the headlines.

**SMITCHIE IS OVER**

**SHANE GREY – FINALLY SINGLE**

There was a big picture of us at a red carpet event earlier this year with a big line through it, and then next to it was a recent picture of Shane, and a picture of me…at camp?

I looked up at Nate, mortified. Cate looked over my shoulder, gasping.

"How…I mean why did…I-I don't…" But I couldn't form anything enough to get it out of my mouth. How did they find out? How did they get this picture of me?

"I don't know how they found out, or who told them but all we know is that the Camp is crawling with paps, and our manager has been calling every freaking minute, asking what the hell is going on. Apparently, he didn't even know about Shane leaving camp." Nate said, breathing heavily, I could tell he was really upset. I just sat in total disbelief. I had just finally got my life back together and now _this_? The media is going to tear my life apart, especially when they find out about me and Nate. I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders, and looked over slowly, seeing Jason's troubled face.

"I feel so bad, Mitchie! Anything you need, you come to me and I'll get it. I promise. Anything at all. You come to your uncle Jason." He said, hugging me again. I laughed a little, nodding. I was just so confused.

"I just…where did they get this picture of Shane? It looks so recent. And how did they get this picture of me? This is just from like, two days ago. And…who told them?" I asked, all in one big breath, still staring at the cover. I looked up at everyone, and they all just shrugged looking so confused. Cate was the first one to speak up.

"Well obviously, Shane isn't trying to be so inconspicuous anymore, and if the media caught hold of this, they could have easily gotten pictures of you walking around camp, and as to who told everyone, I'll give you one guess." She said, looking at all of us pointedly. I furrowed my eyebrows. Who was she talking about? The only people who knew where here at camp, and I was friends with everyone, no one would…oh my god. I snapped my eyes up to meet Nate's.

"Sarah." We said in unison.

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner!" Cate said sarcastically. I just slumped more. How could she? I mean, I knew she was not the nicest person and all, but she knew Shane and I were over, why try to make anymore waves?

"God, that girl. I can't believe she did that." Nate said, pulling his hair as he started to pace. I shook my head, sliding off of the bed.

"We don't know it was her for sure, heck, maybe nobody told them! If they saw Shane in LA when he's supposed to be here, you know everyone would have jumped on a chance to find out why, so let's not point fingers when we can't be sure." I said, of course being the most sensible one of the group. Everyone grumbled out there responses causing me to roll my eyes.

"Well it doesn't really matter who told them I guess, it just matters that they know. So, what do I do?" I asked, shielding my eyes with my hand as I stood there and thought.

"Well, I can tell you what you're not going to do, you're not going to be leaving this cabin until a proper team of security gets out here to secure the perimeter, and that's an order from Brown." Nate said, his hands on his hips. I look up at him pleadingly.

"Not leave my cabin! Nate! I'll go crazy! I don't want-" But he cut me off by wrapping his arms around my waist.

"There were flashes everywhere as me and Jason walked over here, imagine when they spot you. You'll get pummeled. And I'm not going to let that happen so you are going to stay in here until we get all of these pests out of the camp grounds." He said with determination. I sighed, groaning.

"Great! Just perfect! And what do you expect me to do until the 'perimeter is secured'" I mocked him as I rolled my eyes.

"You build birdhouses with me, silly!" Jason piped in, acting like it was the most obvious answer to the question. We all looked at him in disbelief.

"What? I thought it would be nice if we could build birdhouses together." He said, nodding his head.

"And how exactly, are you going to be able to do that…in a cabin?" Cate asked him, sweeping her arm around the room for emphasis. His face fell into confusion and after a second of thought, he held his finger up as if a light bulb went off in his head.

"I know! I'll go get my portable-birdhouse kit! Oo! And I'll need my toolbox!" He said, scurrying out the door, excitement beaming off of him. Nate tried to grab him before he left, but once Jay sets his sight on something dealing his birds, he's gone. We all looked at each other, confused to what had happened.

"Jay has a toolbox?" I asked, looking at Nate. He held up his hands as his eyebrows shot up.

"I…I don't even know." He said. A small laugh escaped my lips before everything went silent as Nate once again wrapped his arms around me making things somewhat awkward. I looked over at Cate, silently pleading for her to go somewhere; I really wanted to talk to Nate…alone. Thank god she got the message because after pursing her lips and taking in a deep breath, she got up off the bed.

"Okay…you know what? I'm…I'm gonna go, like…make sure Jason hasn't hurt anybody. Talk to ya later." She waved, and walked out of the cabin. I sighed, finally looking up at Nate, but what I saw wasn't what I expected. I saw uncertainty. I looked up at him confused before talking.

"Nate, babe what's wrong?" I asked, rubbing little circles on his upper arm. He closed his eyes, shaking his head lightly.

"Nothing, I'm fine, really." He said, his eyes darting everywhere, never looking at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Nate, something's wrong, I can tell. What is it? If you're afraid I'll do something stupid and leave my cabin, I won't. I'm not dumb, I now how the media works. Is that why you're not looking at me? Is that what's wrong?" I asked, touching his cheek lightly. He leaned onto my hand, closing his eyes before dropping his hold on my waist and turning around, starting to pace. I stood there, still very much confused.

"No, that's not it. I just…Mitchie if and when Shane comes back, what's going to happen? What's going to happen when they find out about us? I could honestly careless about the bands reputation; our fans are used to bad publicity. But what about you? So many things are going to be said, I don't want you to get hurt, baby." He said softly, his chocolate eyes boring into mine. I gulped, sniffling a bit.

"I don't know, Nate." I said, looking down before continuing "but I don't want you to work yourself up about it. Am I worried about the press? Yeah, a little. But I know how to deal with them. Nate for the past year I've lived under scrutiny and I've had everything in the book thrown at me because of dating Shane. I can handle it. I can. As long as you're with me, I'll be okay Nate. As long as you're with me, baby…" I trailed off, my eyes glistening as I reached up and kissed him softly. I pulled away, seeing him smiling down at me.

"I'll always be with you sweetheart. I promise. I won't leave you. And you're right. Anything they throw at us, we can handle, together. God, I love you Mitchie." He said, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. I smiled up at him, but I still saw something behind his eyes, and it scared me. I didn't know what it was, I couldn't figure it out. Something wasn't right.

"Nate…you're not telling me something. Baby, what is it? _Please_ tell me." I begged, holding onto his arms. He gave me a slightly confused look before speaking.

"Mitchie…it's nothing. I just-" But I stepped back a bit, staring up at him.

"No Nate, don't tell me that. Something's wrong, and I want to know what it is. Don't you trust me?" I asked, somewhat hurt. The last thing I wanted was for him not to trust me. He pulled me back to him.

"Mitchie, of course I trust you. It's just…I know you're not over Shane, and I completely understand that. I do. It's just that when he comes back-" I cut him off, stepping out of his grasp.

"You think I'll go back to him. You think I still love him." I said, laughing bitterly in disbelief. He nodded, looking away.

"Nate, first of all. Shane and I are over. We're over. Bottom line. Second, I may still love _him, _but I'm _in_ love with you. How could you even think I'd want to go back to him?" My voiced raised high before my eyes went wide and I covered my mouth with my hand. I did not just let that slip out. Nate's head snapped up, his eyes wide.

"What did you say?" He asked in disbelief. I lowered my hand, my mouth gaping. I still hadn't told Nate I loved him, because I wanted to make sure there were no doubts. I wanted to know in my heart that he was the one before blabbing out things that might hurt us both. But I knew I couldn't take back what I just said, and I was glad.

Nate was the one. He was the one who gave me butterflies, he was the one who'd never let me fall, he was the one I love.

I closed my mouth, slowly letting it turn into a smile.

"I said…I'm in love with you." I said, beaming happily as I ran into his waiting arms, kissing him. He pulled away, his face absolutely beaming.

"I've wanted you to say that for so long, baby. God, say it again." He smiled, kissing my forehead. I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"I love you Nate Addison. I love you, I love you, I love you!" I said, smiling as I kissed his nose, his cheek and finally, his lips. He smiled, kissing my nose.

"Good, because I love you too."

**XXXX**

Phew! Well I hope you all enjoyed that!

I've been trying to write portions every time a have a free moment so I can get them done faster, or else I'd never update.

So please review and make my day!

Happy vacation/break/holiday to everyone!

Hope you all have amazing times with your family and friends!

Review!

Love & Connect 3


	10. Proclamations and Naughty Friends

Wow! Thank you all for such amazing reviews! I'm sorry I can't update as frequently as I should, you all really deserve it. But until everything passes over with my brother, I just can't be as committed as I'd like.

So thank you for continuing to read this story!

I think you'll be in for a shocking…well depends how you look at it… surprise in this chapter.

Enjoy!

**XXXX**

**-1 week later-**

It had been an unusually cold day at camp, and most of the classes for the day had been dismissed early. And thank goodness for the security that Nate had requested out here, they definitely came in handy with all of the reporters hanging around the woods. They finally pushed most of them out, but I wouldn't be surprised to find some insane 40-year-old reporter, camping out around the grounds, desperately trying to make that promotion he's been working his whole life for. Sighing, I pushed those annoyances of out my mind as I continued laying on my belly on top of my bed, reading a book.

Well, I was trying to read a book. My eyes were somewhat distracted by the gorgeous boy who was currently stoking the fire.

I smiled, biting my lip as I lowered my head deeper into the book, just enough so that my eyes could peek over the edge. I had to bite back a sigh as I watched the fire's radiant glow bounce off of his smooth skin. He was perfect.

I must have gotten too lost in my thoughts because before I knew it, the book slipped out of my fingers and bounced off the bed and onto the floor. My eyes widened, as I leaned over the edge to retrieve it. As I brought it back up, I heard Nate chuckle.

"You should've paid more attention to your book instead of checking out my ass." He smiled, throwing another log onto the heap of red cinders, making sparks crackle and pop everywhere. I blushed, and was immediately grateful that the room was mostly dark, and the fire would give me a good excuse.

He clapped his hands together, letting the dirt fall off and onto the rug before he sauntered over to me, standing right above my head. I rolled over onto my back so I could look up at him with out the stress of bending my neck all the way back.

"You didn't deny it." He grinned, touching my nose teasingly with his finger. I laughed.

"I couldn't if I tried. It's not my fault my boyfriend has such a great butt!" I smiled, swatting his hand playfully. He smiled down at me. As he started to rub little circles on my arms as I gazed up at him, I finally realized are positions. Letting out a laugh, I intertwined my hand with his.

"You know, we could totally have a Mary-Jane-Spiderman moment right now." I smiled, tracing random patterns on his hand with my thumb. He chuckled but instead of leaning down, he sat down on the bed, continuing to lean over me.

"Nah, that's Spiderman's thing. I mean…I know I have an incredibly ripped bod like he does, and I know you just want to eat it all up…" He grinned cheekily as I rolled my eyes, swatting him, "but…that's their thing. We can make our own thing though…" He trailed off, hovering over me as his body heat radiated from him, making tingles erupt everywhere our skin touched. I grinned, staring into his chocolate brown eyes.

"Really? And do you have any ideas?" Reaching up, I played with the little curl that always seemed to know the perfect place to land, making Nate look utterly irresistible. He smiled down on me.

"I have a few…" Leaning down, his lips connected with mine, and all I could feel was pure bliss. Locking my arms above my head, his warm lips traveled down my neck, leaving a trail of fire on my skin. Little stars danced around in my mind as his all too amazing hands found their way under my shirt. I arched onto his hand, never wanting him to take this warmth away from me. I needed it. I needed him. Kissing him as hard as I could, I pulled away for a bit, grinning as I took in his disheveled appearance.

"Well, that's a start." I laughed, kissing him lightly again before pushing him off me and rolling over, him now underneath of me. I chuckled.

"Oh really? And do you have anything better my dear?" He asked, playing with my hands. Letting out a sarcastic laugh, I leant down.

"You have no idea." I said, before crashing my lips into his.

**-x-**

**-A couple hours later-**

"I love you, Nate." I whispered, arching my neck to look up at him. He smiled lightly, continuing to let me trace random patterns on his hand.

"I love you too baby." His voice was deep, probably from being in the same position for so long. As he kissed the top of my head, I nodded slightly, staring off into space.

Just a few hours before, I had almost let my emotions take me too far. Again. It seemed like every time I tried to show a guy how much I loved him, something went wrong. This time, Nate stopped us. He said he didn't want to go this fast, and he didn't want to pressure me into anything. How can you say "pressure" when I'm the one yanking your clothes off!

I just don't understand it. Why wouldn't he let me show him how much I love him? How much I want to be with him? Everything I've ever wanted in a relationship is with Nate. Why couldn't he let me show him that? Is it because he doesn't love me as much as he says he does? Or is it because what we "have"…just isn't real?

So that brings us to now. As I laid in Nate's arms, our bodies as close as possible, and his arm tightly around me.

"Baby, is something bothering you?" I blinked, snapping myself back to reality. As I let my mind process the question, I didn't quite know how to answer it. I was just happy he asked. This is what I need in a relationship. Communication. Shane liked to assume what people were feeling, and judge by what we thought. How retarded.

I sighed, letting my mind race through how many things I wanted to say.

"Nate, are you really here with me?" I finally settled on a question, mentally slapping myself for how dumb that just sounded. Out of all the questions in the English language, I settle on this one. Figures.

I felt his chest move a little as he pulled away a bit to look at me.

"Yeah, Mitch, of course I'm here with you." He said, looking confused as ever as his reply came out sounding more like a question then an answer. I smiled lightly, pulling away some so that I could look up at him.

"And you'll never leave me?" My eyes pleaded with his to say what I needed to hear. His face fell into confusion, and my heart skipped a beat, not wanting him to deny me what I needed.

"Mitchie…baby, never. I'll never leave you. I'll always be here for you." He said softly, cupping my cheek with his hand. I smiled, nodding.

"What's wrong? What's with the questions babe?" He asked, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I shook my head, diverting my eyes for a second before I finally looked into his.

"I just…I mean…is this really real?" Mentally slapping myself again, I shook my head.

"Okay, that was stupid. I mean…what we have. What we – well I – feel…is it real? Because I hope to god that it is. I've never felt so…alive before. I mean, is this what love really is? It's just…you irritate me to no end sometimes like when you flick your ear when you mess up on a chord, or how you have to always roll your shoulders all around when you put a coat on, or how you face goes all…weird when I can't hit a note. Argh! It irritates the shit out of me. But you know what? I don't care! I don't! When Shane did something to make me mad, that's all I could think about. But you do something; I can't get mad at you. I mean I do but…it's different. It's like you irritate me so much I just want to push you away, and then when I think about that, I have to go kiss you because I feel so guilty for feeling like that, you know? It's just…oh my gosh, I sound insane. I just…I just want to know if it's real." By the end of my speech, I was up on my knees, breathing heavily, and kicking myself inside for how retarded I must have just sounded.

As I was about to tell him to just forget that all and try to erase it out of his memory, he was up on his knees, pulling me into him. Before I knew it, his lips were on mine as he was kissing me with an intensity I'd never felt before. So many emotions and questions coursed through my body, but one was very clear. What the hell?

Before I could push him away to ask him what was going on, he pulled away himself. Cupping my face, I held onto his arms, both of us breathing heavily.

"Mitch…baby this is real. God it's real. I feel it too. Everything you said. It's real. It is." He panted, kissing me again as we both pulled away, grinning like fools.

"Well that's a relief." I said, causing him to go into a fit of laughter. I laughed along to, kissing him again. But as we were in the middle of our "moment", I looked around my cabin, a light bulb going on in my mind.

"Nate, oh my god, where's Cate?" I struggled to get up, looking around the room. Of course she isn't here you fruitcake. Well then where the hell is she?

"Mitch, hunny, she's with Jason." He said, pulling my body to his so I'd stop going around in circles, looking in places I knew she wouldn't be. I stopped abruptly, looking up at him.

"Jason?" He nodded. I hit him hard, pushing away from him.

"Why the hell did you let her go with Jason?! The only reason World War III hasn't broken out between them is because Jason hates guns and Cate is afraid of his birds! Why are they together?! We have to go find them." I yelled, turning around to scramble over to my shoes, pulling them on. But before I made it to the door, Nate arms were pulling me back.

"Hey, you get off me mister! If I find two dead friends, it'll be because of you!" I struggled against his hold, but I knew it was no use, his grip only got tighter. Sighing, I blew a piece of bang out of my eye and slouched, knowing I was defeated.

Soon hearing Nate's infamous chuckle, I spun around and glared at him, only making him laugh harder.

"You're so cute when you're mad." I slapped his arm again.

"Nate! This is no time for joking! Now come on, we need to go." I tried to pull his hand to lead him, but the only accomplishment I made was flying backwards onto him again. I sighed.

"Nah, we don't need to. They'll be just fine." He was still holding back more laughs, I could tell. Sighing, I turned to face him again, hands on my hips.

"And why is that?" I huffed. He grinned…mischievously might I add.

"Because when I went to Jason's cabin to see if he wanted to come with me, Cate was in there with him." His excitement was almost bursting out of him. I eyed him suspiciously.

"So?"

"So…I left." I sighed, glaring again as I reached up to slap his arm, but his hand caught mine.

"Because they were kissing."

My jaw dropped.

**XXXX**

Kissing? What? What kissing?

Surprise you enough? Hope so!

Next chapter will be even more surprising and guess what's even more surprising then _that_?

I already have the next chapter written!

Mhm.

So it all depends on how much feedback I get from you awesome reviewers!

So you see that sexy little review button down there?

Push it!

(Oh! And tell me what you thought of the Tonight video and the performances at the inauguration! I'm sure it'll be amazing!)

So push it!

Love & Connect 3!


	11. Surprise Appearences

Hey all! I'm sorry I haven't posted this sooner. I really have had this written, but I just haven't had the chance or the want to put it up. I'm not really having a writer's block, but I just have not been in the writing mood lately. Too many messed up things going on for me right now.

But I have been writing some one-shots, and a friend of mine on here is so kindly reading them over for me so I'll be trying to post those on here as soon as I can.

I hope you all like this chapter, and enjoy the surprise in it!

FYI: The chapters in this story have been beta-read (is that a word?) for me, so I'll be replacing the chapters when I get the chance. Just mentioning that for any who actually care. Lol.

By the way, I don't own Starbucks. Although I wish I did. Haha.

Happy Reading!

**- next day -**

I didn't know where to start with Caitlin. The information that Nate had told me last night was nearly life-altering. All morning I had made myself perfectly available in everyway to Cate, trying to hint to her of what I knew.

She wasn't catching on.

As the morning went on, I could barely stand it. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't tell me something as important as this, which made me start to question things. Was she mad at me? Did she feel she couldn't trust me? Did I do something to make her feel she couldn't tell her best friend something as important as this?

"Hey, Mitch, can you can you grab some napkins?"

I blinked, nodding my head automatically in Cate's direction as I reached for the napkins. Setting them on my tray, I continued to move down the lunch line, grabbing random pieces of food as I continued to let my questions eat away at me. As we moved our way down the line, the dessert came into view. My eyes widened as I smiled to myself mischievously.

"Hey! Look Cate! Puckers!" I said, holding a wrapped cookie up and wagging it in her face. The Chef, Amee had a little bit of an obsession with themes and today's dessert just so happened to be "love".

"And…and smooches! Oo! Look! Even kisses! You know…kisses? Spark a memory? Any memory? Kisses. You know…where people are… together… kissing?" By now Cate, and a few other people were staring at me weirdly. I closed my eyes; blowing out a puff of air at how retarded I must have sounded. Oh well. I was getting desperate.

"Mitch…have you had Starbucks recently? You know what that does to you." She never dropped her concerned stare as she reached up to touch my forehead. I shook my head, stepping away from her.

"I'm fine! Great, actually. How about you? Things going okay? You know, with everyon-thing. I mean everything," I blurted out, a big smile plastered on my face.

"Right. Come on Mitch, let's go sit over here where no one can hear you," she mumbled, giving me one last look before pulling me by the elbow and directing me over to an empty table. I sighed, slapping my forehead when she wasn't looking. Unfortunately, some other people were as they shot weird glances in my direction. I rolled my eyes, sighing and sticking out my tongue at them, scrunching my face up into a weird angle before biting my lip to keep from laughing as I continued to follow Cate. She sat down and I slid in next to her.

"So, would you like to explain why your acting like the time Jason took you to Starbucks and "accidentally" ordered you 8 shots of espresso?" She gave me a confused glance before biting into her sandwich. Thoughts raced through my mind from that statement. Why does she seem so calm? Did what Nate see really happen? What was I thinking letting Jason order my coffee? I quickly brushed the last question away as I tried to come up with some excuse. Sighing, I figured I was just going to have to bite the bullet.

"Speaking of Jason…why haven't you told me about you two?" I said, watching her intently as she froze momentarily before wiping her mouth, casting a nervous side-long glance at me. That's all I needed.

"What are you talking about, Mitch?" she questioned, continuing to pick at her food. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, Caity, you're always telling me to be straight forward, so I'm going to be. What am I talking about? Well, first off, were you really kissing Jason? And second, why didn't you tell me?" I asked, completely forgetting my food as I turned to watch her reaction. There was none.

"How do you know about that?" she mumbled, still avoiding my stare. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Cate, that's not the point. The point is that I know, and you weren't the one to tell me. Why?" I asked, now finding my feelings going from concerned to hurt. She sighed, finally turning to meet my stare.

"Because, Mitchie, I didn't want to involve you. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings by not telling you, but I was really just trying to protect you," her voice was calm and smooth as she laid a caring hand on my shoulder. I ignored her gesture as all my feelings turned into confusion and irritation.

Protect me? What the hell?

"Protect me? Caitlin, I'm not your daughter and I'm not some little girl down the street who you baby-sit. I'm your best friend. I wish you and everyone else would just stop "protecting" me, damn it! God…protect me from what Cate? Being hurt? Because you did a hell of a job yourself! I'm more hurt that you didn't tell me then anything you were trying to protect me from. Now what the _hell_ are you talking about?" My voice was clear and unwavering, and I was suddenly thankful that our table was away from the wondering ears that I knew were around us. Cate's face fell into a frown as she turned completely, keeping her hand on my shoulder.

"Mitch…I'm sorry. I really didn't know you felt that way. I honestly had no intention of hurting you. I wanted to tell you, really, but with everything that was going on for you and Nate, I didn't want to burden you with my issues," she said, looking as remorseful as ever.

"Cate, that's what I'm here for. All those times I called you about Shane, and then this year, you stayed up with me sometimes all night and just let me cry…or let me babble on and on about Nate, and you don't want to burden _me_? Caity, that's what friends are for. I don't know what I would have done without you there for me. Not only do I want to be there for you, but I'd say I owe you one too. You don't always have to be the strong one in our friendship. I'm here too. Always," I finished, my hand now on her shoulder. My eyes had misted over some as I thought back on our friendship, and if my eyes didn't deceive me, I think hers were too. I quickly pulled her in for a hug, and for once, she didn't object.

"Thanks Mitch…" she whispered as she pulled away, smiles on both of our faces as we sniffed and tried to make any evidence of our tears disappear. Laughing together, we finally noticed the stares we were getting and I sunk a little lower into my seat. Not Cate.

"What? This is none of your concern! Carry on," she blurted with a wave of her hand. I laughed, turning back around to face my food.

"You may not have to always be the strong one, but you can always be the outspoken one," I said, laughing a little. She smiled, hitting my shoulder lightly.

"So tell me about you and Jason," I said, finally biting into my sandwich, eager to hear everything. But the smile that she was donning was soon replaced with a frown.

"There is no 'me and Jason,'" she replied softly, biting into her sandwich again. I shot her a confused glance.

"But I thought-"

She shook her head.

"Did we kiss last night? Yes. Did I mind? Not really. Do I like Jason? I have absolutely no idea. Everything that happened last night was nothing I would have ever, ever expected. And yes, it was the first time it happened." She paused and I nodded, encouraging her to continue. "The only reason I was there was because I knew you and Nate were together and I wanted someone's opinion on this new cut that I made. Peggy and Ella were working on something for Final Jam, and even though Jason isn't the brightest, he's got a killer music sense. So I went there. And before you know it, we're mixing music together and he's leaning in, and we're kissing." She sighed, as if a big weight was lifted off of her. I smiled a bit, still confused.

"That's great! So what's wrong? Why is there still no you and Jason?" I questioned, still trying to eat my food. She shrugged, doing the same.

"We talked about it. Shocking…I know. But we did. And I honestly don't want a boyfriend right now. And Jason didn't feel he wanted one either. A girlfriend I mean. We both decided we were better off as friends, and that's okay with me." She finished her statement by stuffing the rest of her sandwich in and downing her drink. I gave her a quizzical look.

"Honestly," she said. Nodding her head.

"You promise?" I asked.

"Promise." She smiled, nodding again. I nodded knowing it was better to just leave her to her own opinions. We sat in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, before anyone talked again.

"So how did you find out anyway? Spying on me again?" she chuckled and I smiled, finishing my drink.

"Actually…um, well…Nate saw you guys. Kissing," I blurted, knowing I couldn't lie. Her eyes widened as a deep pink flushed onto her cheeks. I bit back a laugh and continued.

"Don't worry; he's not going to tell. I made him promise…" I trailed off, temporarily forgetting my train of thought as I reminisced on last night. But I shook my head, snapping out of my zone.

"Anyway, he stopped at Jason's cabin to see if he wanted to come to ours, and that's when he saw you." I shrugged, finishing off any last pieces of food. She nodded slightly, still looking worried. I laughed.

"Don't worry, Cate, honestly. Nate won't tell anyone," I said, laying my hand on her shoulder briefly. She chuckled.

"It's not Nate telling anyone that I'm worried about, it's him even knowing at all." She chuckled again, but I still sensed her concern. So I smiled.

"What, you afraid he's going to hang it over your head forever?" I giggled, leaning my arm on the table. She laughed.

"Oh yeah…" We both continued to laugh until she abruptly stopped, looking past my head. I gave her a confused look as I turned around, soon met with warm lips. I gasped a bit, until I realized who owned them, and then returned the gesture. Yeah, until it registered that the whole Camp was watching.

My eyes flew open, and I pushed on Nate's chest, breaking our kiss. He gave me a look that had confusion, worry, and a little bit of hurt all intermixed into it.

"What's wrong?" He asked concerned. I looked back up at him before letting my eyes drift around, taking in all the shocked faces. I grimaced. I mean, I knew most people had suspected us, but I guess we never really confirmed anything. Until now. His eyebrows went up in recognition before sliding into the seat next to me, putting a protective arm around my waist.

"Mitchie…don't worry about them. Look at me." He turned my face up towards his as he smiled, cupping my cheek.

"It's just you and me, Mitch, just you and me. Don't worry about them," he whispered, tightening his grip on me. Still having doubts, but knowing not only Nate, but my friends would always back me up, I smiled nodding slightly.

"Okay," I whispered back, before finally realizing that Jason was standing awkwardly beside the table and Cate was fiddling with the non-existent food on her plate. I smiled again, pushing the stares I could still feel on me into the back of my mind as I patted Jason's hand that was lying on the table.

"Hey Mister Rock star. How's it going?" I asked, making myself comfortable as I leaned against Nate. Jason just stared at me, and I could tell he was really confused to everything going on. But I gave him another smile, and he finally returned one back.

"Good!" he said cheerily. I laughed, knowing the old Jay was back again. I pointed to the other side of the table, looking up at him.

"You can sit down you know," I said, nodding my head to reassure him. He smiled a bit, sitting down.

"Okay."

Everything went quiet after that, making things a little awkward. I glanced at Nate, then to Cate, giving her a reassuring smile. I could tell she was nervous.

"So! Are you guys going to eat?" I asked, looking back and forth between Nate and Jay.

"Actually no, instructors aren't allowed to eat with the campers anymore," Nate said, picking at something on the table. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"What? Since when?" Cate asked, beating me to the punch. They both shrugged.

"Since today. Brown said no more eating with campers. It blows," Jason answered, pouting as he leaned onto the table. I couldn't help but think how adorable he was. And I was so happy to hear the awkwardness break after that, as everyone went into why the rule was made, and how stupid it was. Smiling inside, I stood up, collecting Cate and my plates.

"I'll be right back guys," I said as Cate thanked me and Nate squeezed my hand before I smiled again and walked towards the trash cans by the door. We still had another half an hour before classes started and we usually just hung out in the cafeteria together until then. As I dumped the plates in the trash, I felt someone standing behind me. Expecting it to be one of my friends, I glanced behind me smiling. That's when I saw Sarah. Smirking. I rolled my eyes, turning around.

"What do you want Sarah?" I asked, putting a hand on my hip. I was a lot more confident not to mention happy then I was last time she confronted me, and I knew I could handle her. She smirked again.

"Oh nothing bad, I assure you. I just wanted to congratulate you," she said, crossing her arms. I looked at her confused and somewhat suspicious.

"Congratulate me? For what?" I asked. She smirked again.

"Oh, for being an official slut now. I mean, before it was just a guess. But now…now that you rebounded _so_ fast and just _happened_ to move on to Shane's best friend, well, now everyone knows you're a slut. I mean, that's really low. Come on Bitchie, his best friend? Guess you're just so desperate, you have to go to the next best thing," she said, her face scrunched into a mean smirk, her eyes as cold as ice. What she said hurt, I won't lie. But I wasn't about to admit that. So I laughed. Bitterly.

"What's so funny?" she remarked haughtily.

"Oh, Sarah, you want to call me a slut to make yourself feel better? Go ahead. You know nothing about what _really_ happened, and you never will. I bet it kills you to not know, because you're so damn jealous. You were jealous when I was dating Shane, and you're jealous that circumstances have led to me dating Nate. But you know what? I don't care. You can insult me, and talk about me, but I don't care, Sarah, because at least I know I have real friends and people who really care about me. Not just people who follow me around because their afraid of me, and I'll take that any day. So go ahead and call me names! Go ahead and insult me! Let's see who's the one who looks desperate then."

By now, the whole cafeteria was silent, waiting for her reply. She looked taken aback by everything that somehow came out of my mouth, but she quickly recovered, pulling out her smirk again. I vaguely saw Nate getting up, heading our way. But I didn't want him fighting things for me; this was my problem, my situation to handle.

"Whatever, Mitchie. You're the one who doesn't know anything. You obviously don't know that I get everything I want." She sneered at me before looking over at Nate, winking, and walking away.

As soon as she and her entourage left the building, I finally let out the breath I didn't even know I was holding. It wasn't until now that I realized my nails were digging into my hand and my body was almost shaking from bent up anger and hurt.

"God that girl…come here." Nate tried to take my rigged body into his arms, but I couldn't even think of comfort. I was so damn irritated and disgusted that she openly hit on my boyfriend as I'm standing right fucking here. I saw Cate and Jason come walk up, concern radiating from them. I blinked back hot tears as I shrugged out of Nate's grasp, sniffing and briskly walk towards the door, exiting the building as fast as I could, ignoring the stares I was getting and the protests of my friends. I just needed to get out.

I kept walking in whatever direction my legs carried me, replaying everything that had happened.

I tried to not let her get to me. It wasn't so much what she said that made me so upset; it was that she found the need to have to be like that. What was she talking about anyway? She gets everything she wants? If she wants Shane, she can have him.

But I'm not standing in the way of that. So what the _hell_ did she want? It was then that the light bulb went off in my head. It wasn't what _she_ wanted that mattered, it was what I had. She wanted what I had.

Nate.

She wanted Nate.

I stopped finally, groaning in frustration. Why couldn't things just be easy? Did there always have to be an egotistical bitch in the way of everything? I wasn't rude. I wasn't mean. I didn't try to make everyone else's lives horrible. All I wanted was to be left alone. I just wanted to be happy. But life never asked me what I wanted.

I soon heard three sets of footsteps running behind me, and I sighed, collecting myself. I finally turned around as they approached me, panting. Nate immediately engulfed me in his arms.

"Mitchie, are you okay? I'll take care of it, I promise. She's not going to-"

I cut him off, pulling back a little, smiling.

"Nate, I'm fine. I just… I just needed to get out of there. Really, I don't want you to do anything about it. She was just trying to get to me…or actually you. Don't you see? She wants you," I said, laying my hand on his arm, trying to get him to understand. He looked at me like I was crazy as Cate started going off in her own world, mumbling how Sarah needed a face rearrangement and Jason just stood staring, watching Cate pace back and forth.

"What? Mitchie, what are you talki-" But he stopped abruptly, dropping his hands to my waist as his eyes went wide, then filled with anger. I furrowed my eyebrows as I saw Cate's jaw drop and Jason go wide eyed. More confused then ever, I turned around, searching for what they were looking at.

It wasn't hard to find.

There, standing next to a long, black limo, in white sunglasses looking utterly perfect, was Shane.

Shane.

I think the world stopped around me.

**-x-**

Surprised enough?

Hope you enjoyed that because I really have no clue when the next chapter will be up. You can, in a way, consider this story on temporary hiatus. I really don't want to do that**, **but any extra time I have needs to be spent on school, since that has been seriously slacking.

I _will _write, but it will probably be only every 3-4 weeks like it has been.

I'm really sorry.

I'll try to make it up with the one-shots I've had stored for a while.

So, I hope you understand but if you don't…then oh well, your loss.

Be sure to catch the Grammy's on Sunday – there's no doubt in my mind that the boys will win! Best of luck to them!

Review!

Love & Connect 3


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